Daily Prelims Notes 28 September 2021

September 28, 2021
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Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

28 September 2021

Table Of Contents

1. Government Borrowings

Subject – Economy

Context – Govt pegs H2 borrowing at ₹5.03-lakh cr

Concept –

The Finance Ministry pegged the government borrowing for the second half of 2021-22 at ₹5.03-lakh crore.
The buoyancy in tax collections so far in the current fiscal has played a key factor in ensuring that overall borrowing will be lower this year, say economy watchers.
For the full fiscal year, the gross market borrowing may not go beyond the ₹12.05-lakh crore projected in the Union Budget.

What is government borrowing?

Borrowing is a loan taken by the government and falls under capital receipts in the Budget document.
Usually, Government borrows through issue of government securities called G-secs and Treasury Bills.

How does increased government borrowing affect govt finances?

Bulk of government’s fiscal deficit comes from its interest obligation on past debt.
If the government resorts to larger borrowings, more than what it has projected, then its interest costs also go up risking higher fiscal deficit. That hurts government’s finances.
Larger borrowing programme means that the public debt will go up and especially at a time when the GDP growth is subdues, it will lead to a higher debt-to-GDP ratio.

To know about FRBM Act, please click here.

To know about Fiscal Deficit, please click here.

To know about Fiscal Consolidation and Escape Clause, please click here.

2. All India Quarterly Establishment-based Employment Survey

Subject – Economy

Context – Nine sectors employ 3.08 crore in Q1

Concept –

The report said that the overall employment numbers had increased by 29% from the base year of 2013-14.
However, in the first quarter of this fiscal (April-June 2021), 27% of the establishments surveyed reported pandemic-related retrenchment.
Nine organised sectors of the economy appear to have weathered the Covid second wave well, employing 3.08 crore in the April-June quarter, which is 29 per cent higher than the 2.37 crore people they had on their rolls in 2013-14 (according to the sixth Economic Census).
Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav released here the first Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) of 2021- 22 on employment and related variables in nine non-farm sectors of manufacturing, construction, trade, transport, education, health, accommodation & restaurant, IT/BPO and financial services.

Economic census in India

Indian economic census is the census of the Indian economy through counting all entrepreneurial units in the country which were involved in any economic activities of either agricultural or non-agricultural sector, which engaged in production and/or distribution of goods and/or services.
The Census also provides valuable insight into geographical spread and clusters of economic activities, ownership pattern, persons engaged in all economic establishments of the country.
In 1977, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) conducted the First economic census in collaboration with the Directorate of Economics & Statistics (DES) in the States/Union Territories.
It is conducted once in 5 years.
The Seventh Economic Census (7th EC) was conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in 2019.
- The MoSPI has partnered with CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as the implementing agency for 7th EC.

3. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

Subject – Governance

Context – The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) was launched on Monday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Concept –

It will provide every Indian a digital health ID.
Also, the scheme will help connect digital health solutions across the country. “Every citizen’s health record will be digitally secure,”.
The ABDM scheme will connect the digital health solutions of hospitals, which will not only simplify the processes but also improve ease of living.
The Health ID will be created by using a person’s basic details and mobile number or Aadhaar number.
The personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application, a Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR), and a Healthcare Facilities Registry (HFR).
The key components of the PM-DHM include a Health ID — unique 14-digit health identification number — for every citizen that will also work as their health account.
- The health ID will enable access and exchange of health records of citizens with their consent.

To know more about the mission, please click here.

4. Types of Market Structures

Subject – Economy

Context – Last week, the Competition Commission of India found that three beer companies had colluded to fix beer prices for a full decade — between 2009 and 2018. As a result, the CCI slapped a penalty for cartelisation in the sale and supply of beer in 10 states and Union Territories.

Concept –

Perfect Competition
- In a perfect competition market structure, there are a large number of buyers and sellers.
- All the sellers of the market are small sellers in competition with each other.
- There is no one big seller with any significant influence on the market. So all the firms in such a market are price takers.

Monopolistic Competition
- This is a more realistic scenario that actually occurs in the real world.
- In monopolistic competition, there are still a large number of buyers as well as sellers. But they all do not sell homogeneous products. The products are similar but all sellers sell slightly differentiated products.
- Now the consumers have the preference of choosing one product over another.
- The sellers can also charge a marginally higher price since they may enjoy some market power. So the sellers become the price setters to a certain extent.

Oligopoly
- In an oligopoly, there are only a few firms in the market. While there is no clarity about the number of firms, 3-5 dominant firms are considered the norm.
- So in the case of an oligopoly, the buyers are far greater than the sellers.
- The firms in this case either compete with another to collaborate together. They use their market influence to set the prices and in turn maximize their profits.
- So the consumers become the price takers.
- In an oligopoly, there are various barriers to entry in the market, and new firms find it difficult to establish themselves.

Monopoly
- In a monopoly type of market structure, there is only one seller, so a single firm will control the entire market. It can set any price it wishes since it has all the market power. Consumers do not have any alternative and must pay the price set by the seller.
- Monopolies are extremely undesirable. Here the consumer loose all their power and market forces become irrelevant. However, a pure monopoly is very rare in reality.

What is a Cartel?

A cartel is an organization created from a formal agreement between a group of producers of a good or service to regulate supply in order to regulate or manipulate prices.
According to Competition Commission of India, a “Cartel includes an association of producers, sellers, distributors, traders or service providers who, by agreement amongst themselves, limit, control or attempt to control the production, distribution, sale or price of, or, trade in goods or provision of services”.
The International Competition Network, which is a global body dedicated to enforcing competition law, has a simpler definition. The three common components of a cartel are:
- an agreement;
- between competitors;
- to restrict competition.
The agreement that forms a cartel need not be formal or written. Cartels almost invariably involve secret conspiracies.
Cartels are competitors in the same industry and seek to reduce that competition by controlling the price in agreement with one another.
Tactics used by cartels include reduction of supply, price-fixing, collusive bidding, and market carving.
In the majority of regions, cartels are considered illegal and promoters of anti-competitive practices.
The actions of cartels hurt consumers primarily through increased prices and lack of transparency.
According to ICN, four categories of conduct are commonly identified across jurisdictions (countries). These are:
- price-fixing;
- output restrictions;
- market allocation and
- bid-rigging
By artificially holding back the supply or raising prices in a coordinated manner, companies either force some consumers out of the market by making the commodity (say, beer) more scarce or by earning profits that free competition would not have allowed.

Why cartels can be even worse than monopolies?

It is generally well understood that monopolies are bad for both individual consumer interest as well as the society at large. That’s because a monopolist completely dominates the concerned market and, more often than not, abuses this dominance either in the form of charging higher than warranted prices or by providing lower than the warranted quality of the good or service in question.
Unlike a monopolist, who may be forced to undertake product innovation — lest some new firm figures out a more efficient way of providing the good/service — members of a cartel sit pretty because they know that while none of them may be individually dominant in the market, by synching their pricing or productive actions they not only act as a monopolist but also rule out the possibility of allowing some new firm from upstaging the whole arrangement.
Apart from the whole issue of charging higher prices, cartels (as against monopolists) neither have any incentive to invest in research aimed at improving their product nor do they see any reason why they should boost investments towards making the methods of production more efficient.
The end result is that both the individual consumer as well as the society at large suffers.

5. Section 133A of the Income-Tax Act

Subject – Governance

Context – On September 10, 2021, officers of the Income-Tax Department visited the premises of News Click and News laundry

Concept –

Section 133A authorises an income-tax authority to enter premises where a business or profession is carried on.
The purpose of entry is limited and specific — to inspect books of account or documents, check or verify the cash, stock or other valuable article or thing which may be found in the premises and furnish such information that the authority may require.
Section 133A authorises the officers to inspect the books of account, place identification marks on them, and on other documents, and even make copies.
They may impound the books of account or other documents inspected by them, for reasons to be recorded in writing. T
hey are also entitled to make an inventory of the cash, stock or other valuable articles verified by the officers.
Finally, they are authorised to record the statement of any person in the surveyed premises, though not on oath.
Section 133A contains a specific prohibition that the officers “shall, on no account, remove or cause to be removed from the place… any cash, stock or other valuable article or thing”.

6. Import Export Codes

Subject – Economy

Context – government is making it mandatory to update Import Export Codes

Concept –

The government is set to start deactivating Import Export Codes (IECs) for firms that have not given updated information to the government starting October 6.
An IEC is a business identification number that is mandatory for export from India or import.
Earlier this year, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) amended IEC rules to require all firms engaged in import or export to update their details every year between April and June.
- The DGFT later extended the timeline for firms to update details this year till the end of August based on requests by industry.
The IEC granted by the DGFT is mandatory for any firm engaging in exports or imports.

7. Soda Ash

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – ‘Focus on renewable energy to drive soda ash demand’

Concept –

Soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), is an alkali chemical refined from the mineral trona or naturally occurring sodium carbonate-bearing brines (both referred to as natural soda ash), the mineral nahcolite (referred to as natural sodium bicarbonate, from which soda ash can be produced), or manufactured from one of several chemical processes (referred to as synthetic soda ash).
All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions in water.
Historically, it was extracted from the ashes of plants growing in sodium-rich soils. Because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood (once used to produce potash), sodium carbonate became known as “soda ash”.
It is produced in large quantities from sodium chloride and limestone by the Solvay process.
Increased demand for flat glass caused by these drivers is one large contributing factor towards overall soda ash demand growth and one of the reasons for a sustained upward firmness in soda ash prices

Applications

Sodium carbonate (or washing soda) is used as a cleansing agent for domestic purposes like washing clothes. Sodium carbonate is a component of many dry soap powders.
It is used for removing temporary and permanent hardness of water.
It is used in the manufacture of glass, soap and paper.
It is used in the manufacture of sodium compounds like borax.

8. Akash missile

Subject – Defence and Security

Context – DRDO tests Akash Prime missile

Concept –

The development of the Akash surface to air missile (SAM) was started by the DRDO in the late 1980s as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
Named after the original Sanskrit term for sky or space, Akash is primarily a Short Range Surface to Air Missile built to provide air defence cover to the vulnerable areas.
The Akash weapon system can simultaneously engage multiple targets in group mode or autonomous mode.
It has built-in Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM) features, which means that it has mechanisms on-board that can counter the electronic systems that deceive the detection systems.
The entire weapon system has been configured on a mobile platform.
A full Akash missile system comprises a launcher, set of missiles, a control centre, an built-in mission guidance system and a C4I (command, control communication and intelligence) centres and supporting ground equipment along with a radar named Rajendra which accompanies each of the missile batteries.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the Akash Missile system is 96 per cent indigenised, one of the highest proportions of the indigenisation.
The Akash missiles have been developed by DRDO’s Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad under the Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS), in collaboration with several other DRDO facilities in the country along with industry partners.

The advanced versions of Akash — Akash Prime and Akash NG

The initial version of the Akash has an operational range of 27-30 km and a flight altitude of around 18 km.
The Akash Prime, which underwent its maiden flight test from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha, has the same range as that of the earlier version but has a crucial new addition — that of an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy to hit aerial targets.
Other improvements in the system ensures more reliable performance under low temperature environments at higher altitudes.

Akash-NG

Akash-NG is a new generation SAM, primarily designed for the IAF with an aim of intercepting high maneuvering aerial threats that have low Radar Cross Section (RCS), which is the electromagnetic signature of the object.
Along with the increased lethality of striking threats with significantly small electromagnetic signature, the NG version has an extended range of up 70 km, is sleeker, lighter and has much smaller ground system footprint.
The RF seeker of the NG version operates in the Microwave Ku-band, the missile has a propulsion system of solid-fueled dual-pulse motor.
Akash NG is canisterised, which means that it is stored and operated from specially designed compartments.
- In the canister, the inside environment is controlled thus along with making its transport and storage easier, the shelf life of weapons also improves significantly.

9. Landsat 9

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – NASA’s ‘new eye in the sky’ that will help study climate change

Concept –

The earth monitoring satellite, Landsat 9, is a joint mission of NASA and the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The first Landsat satellite was launched in 1972 and since then, Landsat satellites have collected images of our planet and helped understand how land usage has changed over the decades.
In 2008, it was decided that all Landsat images will be free and publicly available and the policy has helped scores of researchers, farmers, policy analysts, glaciologists, and seismologists.
Landsat images have been used to study the health of forests, coral reefs, monitor water quality and melting glaciers.
Landsat satellites make contact with a ground station every few hours and offload its data.

What is new about Landsat 9?

The Landsat 9 joins Landsat 8 that was launched in 2013 and the satellites together will collect images of Earth’s surface. It takes 8 days to capture the whole Earth.
Landsat 9 carries instruments similar to the other Landsat satellites, but it is the most technologically advanced satellite of its generation. It can see more colour shades with greater depths than the previous satellites, helping scientists capture more details about our ever-changing planet.
The instruments aboard Landsat 9 are the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2). They will measure different wavelengths of light reflected off the Earth’s surface.
OLI-2 can see the light that we can’t see too. It captures sunlight reflected off Earth’s surface and studies the visible, near-infrared, and short wave infrared portions of the spectrum.
TIRS-2 has a four-element refractive telescope and photosensitive detectors that capture thermal radiation and help study the Earth’s surface temperature.
As the satellite orbits, these instruments will take pictures across 185 kilometers and each pixel will represent an area of about 30 meter X 30 meter.

10. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

Subject – Agriculture

Context – The central government, amid the pandemic has launched this fund.

Concept –

AIF is aimed at strengthening and expanding the scope of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) —where agricultural produce is traded and a congregation of commission agents, merchants or artiyas, and large buyers influence auctioning and price discovery.
This scheme can provide support facilities to farmers and value chain actors for risk-sharing and market access.
It is envisaged that the creation of storage and market infrastructure in a project mode through interest subvention of 3 per cent on collateral-free loan up to ₹2 crore for seven years may make (smaller) projects financially viable.
Specific requirements like cluster identification or targeting State-specific APMCs and maintenance of sanitary and phytosanitary standards for organic produce marketing and exports are implicit in this scheme.
The scheme further states that district, State or national level monitoring committees will be entrusted with keeping the turnaround time for file processing to less than 60 days.
The approved projects for funding the beneficiaries are to be reflected in the Public Fund Management System and reasons for not funding the project need to be communicated to maintain visibility and transparency.
In short, the AIF scheme targets the creation of adequate post-harvest infrastructure facilities to mitigate spatial and temporal risks in the agribusiness ecosystem.
. This scheme is similar to the Agriculture Technology Infrastructure Fund (ATIF) rolled out in 2014–15 for ‘One Nation-One Market’, which resulted in 1,000-odd electronic National Agriculture Markets (eNAMs).
Also, the AIF is likely to subsume the Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) scheme launched in 2008–09, the Rural Godown scheme of 2001-02 and the grading and standardisation of agricultural commodities, among others, initiated as capital investment subsidy schemes.

11. IPRs in India

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Expand the study of IPRs – Report

Concept –

The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has done a commendable job in its 161th report, the Review of the Intellectual Property Rights Regime in India, presented to the Rajya Sabha on July 23, 2021.
At many places, the committee notes and compares the Indian system with other foreign jurisdictions. It also outlines the need for India to follow/consider/emulate the policies of the US or the EU.

To know about Intellectual Property, please click here.

12. 3D-printed Vaccine Patch

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – New 3D-printed vaccine patch offers more protection than jabs

Concept –

Scientists have developed a 3Dprinted vaccine patch that provides greater protection than a typical immunisation shot.
The resulting immune response from the patch was 10 times greater than vaccine delivered into an arm muscle with a needle jab, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The technique uses 3D-printed microneedles lined up on a polymer patch and barely longs enough to reach the skin to deliver vaccine.
The ease and effectiveness of the new vaccine may lead to a new way to deliver vaccines that is painless, less invasive than a shot with a needle, and can be self-administered.
Study results show the vaccine patch generated a significant T-cell and antigen-specific antibody response that was far greater than an injection delivered under the skin.

13. Mumbai civic body’s 3D mapping initiative

Subject – Governance

Context – The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has completed the first 3D (three-dimensional) mapping of an administrative ward in Mumbai which largely covers Worli area.

Concept –

The 3D or three-dimensional mapping is the process of preparing a map of the city’s natural areas like water bodies, open spaces, trees and man-made features like roads, buildings and infrastructure facilities in digital format.
This is the first time that a 3D city model in Mumbai has been prepared.
3D model will help at various fronts, like development plan and master plan creation, detection of unauthorised changes, building plan approval system, detailed infrastructure planning of roads, bridges, flyover planning in 3D, analysis and comparison of two alternative designs, urban flooding modelling.
Currently, the planning takes place in two-dimensional maps and its accurate modeling for infrastructure developments or disaster management is difficult.
But to meet the demands of cities in the 21st century, it is important that urban bodies are able to visualise their cities in 3D where they can get 360 degree views, undertake simulations and conduct detailed analysis on the data.
Experts said these three dimensional maps have potential to assist city planners in reaching local climate resilience, economic development and housing goals.

Technologies used –

For the 3D mapping, Geospatial Technology was used which is a combination of Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS).
Along with this, drones were flown for capturing high definition imagery of the entire area and mobile street imagery vehicles mounted with Light Detection & Ranging (LiDAR) sensors were part of the creation of the virtual model.
The geospatial technology further helps in analysis, simulation, visualisation and modelling.

14. India gets first herbicide-tolerant & non-GM rice varieties

Subject – Agriculture

Context – The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has developed the country’s first-ever non-GM (genetically modified) herbicide-tolerant rice varieties that can be directly seeded and significantly save water and labour compared to conventional transplanting.

Concept –

The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has developed the country’s first-ever non-GM (genetically modified) herbicide-tolerant rice varieties that can be directly seeded and significantly save water and labour compared to conventional transplanting.
The varieties — Pusa Basmati 1979 and Pusa Basmati 1985 — contain a mutated acetolactate synthase (ALS) gene making it possible for farmers to spray Imazethapyr, a broad-spectrum herbicide, to control weeds.
This dispenses with the need to prepare nurseries where paddy seeds are first raised into young plants, before being uprooted and replanted 25-35 days later in the main field.
Paddy transplantation is both labour- and water-intensive. The field where the seedlings are transplanted has to be “puddled” or tilled in standing water.
- For the first three weeks or so after transplanting, the plants are irrigated almost daily to maintain a water depth of 4-5 cm.
- Farmers continue giving water every two-three days even for the next four-five weeks when the crop is in tillering (stem development) stage.
Water is a natural herbicide that takes care of weeds in the paddy crop’s early-growth period. The new varieties simply replace water with Imazethapyr and there’s no need for nursery, puddling, transplanting and flooding of fields. You can sow paddy directly, just like wheat.
Imazethapyr, effective against a range of broadleaf, grassy and sedge weeds, can’t be used on normal paddy, as the chemical does not distinguish between the crop and the invasive plants. The ALS gene in rice codes for an enzyme (protein) that synthesises amino acids for crop growth and development. The herbicide sprayed on normal rice plants binds itself to the ALS enzymes, inhibiting their production of amino acids.
The new basmati varieties contain an ALS gene whose DNA sequence has been altered using ethyl methanesulfonate, a chemical mutant. As a result, the ALS enzymes no longer have binding sites for Imazethapyr and amino acid synthesis isn’t inhibited. The plants can also now “tolerate” application of the herbicide, and hence it kills only the weeds.
Both Pusa Basmati 1979 and 1985 have been bred by crossing existing popular varieties — Pusa 1121 and Pusa 1509, respectively — with ‘Robin’. The latter is a mutant line derived from Nagina 22, an upland drought-tolerant rice variety.

Direct seeding of rice (DSR)

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are already adopting direct seeding of rice (DSR) in response to labour shortages and depleting water tables.
DSR cultivation is currently based on two herbicides, Pendimethalin (applied within 72 hours of sowing) and Bispyribac-sodium (after 18-20 days).
These are costlier than Imazethapyr (Rs 1,500 versus Rs 300/acre). Imazethapyr, moreover, has a wider weed-control range and is safer, as the ALS gene isn’t present in humans and mammals. Even in the herbicide-tolerant rice, the chemical will target only the weeds.
DSR is estimated to need 30 per cent less water, save Rs 3,000 per acre in transplantation labour charges, and also 10-15 days’ time due to no nursery preparation.
But DSR’s success hinges on an effective herbicide solution — like breeding Imazethapyr-tolerant varieties.

15. Airspace map of India

Subject – Security

Context – The Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched an airspace map of India for drone operations.

Concept –

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched an airspace map of India for drone operations — allowing civilian drone operators to check the demarcated no-fly zones or where they need to undergo certain formalities before flying one.
This map has been developed by MapMyIndia and IT services firm Happiest Minds and is put up on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) digital sky platform.

What does the airspace map of India show?

The interactive map shows red, yellow and green zones across the country.
Green zone is the airspace up to 400 feet that has not been designated as a red or yellow zone, and up to 200 feet above the area located between 8-12 km from the perimeter of an operational airport.
Yellow zone is the airspace above 400 feet in a designated green zone, and above 200 feet in the area located between 8-12 km from the perimeter of an airport, and above ground in the area located between 5-8 km from the perimeter of an airport.
- The Yellow zone has been reduced from 45 km earlier to 12 km from the airport’s perimeter.
Red zone is the ‘no-drone zone’ within which drones can be operated only after a permission from the Central government.

Rules for each of these zones –

In green zones, no permission is required for operating drones with an all-up weight of up to 500 kg, while drone operations in yellow zone require permission from the concerned air traffic control authorities — which could be either the Airports Authority of India, the Indian Air Force, the Indian Navy, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, etc as the case may be.

16. Capital Expenditures

Subject – Economy

Context – Spends lagging, FinMin asks ministries to step up capex

Concept –

To know about Capital expenditures, please click here.

17. Indian Monsoons in 2021

Subject – Geography

Context – This year, a four-point monsoon story with a storm at each end

Concept –

As of Monday, the country had received 850.3 mm of rain, 2% short of the season’s normal.
With rainfall in 24% deficit of the Long Period Average (LPA), this August was the sixth driest since 1901. Since 2009, only one other August has been drier.

Reasons for deficit rainfall in August –

Fewer low-pressure systems: They are the main source of monsoon rainfall, and only two of these systems — instead of the normal four — developed over the Bay of Bengal this August. At least two of these systems normally intensify into depressions.
Position of monsoon trough: With no low-pressure systems forming, the monsoon trough remained to the north of its normal position for most days in August. As a result, rainfall was largely restricted to parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal, UP, and Bihar.
Western Pacific Typhoons: These usually bring good rain during August as they cross Myanmar. Their remnants then re-enter the Bay of Bengal, become fresh weather systems and approach the Indian mainland along the east coast. “This August, typhoon activity was far less, and hardly any of their remnants reached the Bay of Bengal.
- The typhoons that developed recurved north-eastward instead of advancing north-westward towards the Bay of Bengal. The absence of low-pressure systems brought less rain over Central India.
Negative Indian Ocean Dipole: Since the start of the monsoon, the IOD has remained in its negative phase. Studies have linked the negative phase of IOD to below normal rainfall.
Off-shore trough: An off-shore trough that generally runs between Gujarat and Kerala, attracts moist winds from the Arabian Sea towards land, causing heavy rain in Gujarat and coastal Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala. This off-shore trough was largely absent last month. Without the off-shore trough, south-westerly monsoon winds that bring heavy rain over the west coast, remained significantly weak.
Madden Julian Oscillation : This eastward-moving pulse of clouds brings rainfall along the Equator during a 30-60-day cycle. In August, these waves were prevailing near Africa, thus not helping cloud formation over India.

18. Floods

Subject – Disaster management

Context – Global population exposed to floods grew over 20% in 15 years: Study

Concept –

The number of people living in floodplains across the world increased by 58-86 million during 2000-2015, according to a new estimate. This indicates a 20-24 per cent growth in the period, the report noted.
The growth spread over 70 countries was concentrated in low- and middle-income countries, mostly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the report published in the journal Nature stated. “At least 213 million people were shown to be exposed to flooding in south and southeast Asia alone.”
The latest estimates are 10 times higher than previous models, the analysis showed.
“More than 255 million people were affected at least once by major floods in that period,” the report said.
Migration and urbanisation are major factors behind this growth. Most of those moving to flood-prone areas may be “the most vulnerable, marginalised populations” who had nowhere else to go.
Reclassification of land following major floods and rising sea levels is another cause for the increase in population in these regions, according to the authors.
Flood models based on satellite observations go beyond the risk perspective and estimating the impacts of flood risk on populations.
Satellite imagery can help us understand things like the impact on households, income, wealth, and human health after a flood.
The findings have been made available at Global Flood Database by Cloud to Street, a collaborative project dedicated to flood risk assessment and science-based action.
‘Blue lining’ or the unofficial demarcation of flood-prone areas by financial institutions has led to “underinvestment in flood mitigation infrastructure” and increased risks, the report added.
The term draws from ‘red lining’ which is a malpractice leading to racist housing policies towards specific communities in neighbourhoods.

To know about Malthus theory which explains about Population vs Poverty, please click here.

19. Bright skies named colour of the year

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Bright skies named colour of the year

Concept –

The Sun’s light is made up of different electromagnetic waves, and their various wavelengths are associated with a different colour. Shorter waves are seen as blue, slightly longer waves as yellow, and even longer as red.
When these waves are seen together they look white. But this light has to travel through our atmosphere before it gets to our eyes, and atmospheric molecules are much smaller than the wavelength of the Sun’s light. As the light hits these molecules, they scatter it in all different directions. This effect is called Rayleigh scattering.
In this process, more of the bluer light, which has shorter wavelengths, is scattered, resulting in the sky becoming blue wherever you look. Meanwhile, the Sun becomes more yellow looking since the light from it is now missing those longer blue wavelengths.

Mie scattering

It is a similar process as Rayleigh scattering but caused by larger particles (such as water vapour or fine pollution particles in little droplets).
These types of particles remove the red, yellow and blue colour components from a white light beam in equal measures and do not alter the colour of the light passing through the atmosphere or being scattered back to an observer.
This leads to the sky turning whiter in addition to the blue caused by Rayleigh scattering.
The influence of white within the blue of the sky becomes stronger towards the horizon where the light has to pass through much more atmosphere to arrive at the observer. The various tones and shades of blue observed become nature’s visualisation of what the atmosphere is currently composed of. The whiter it appears, the more extra particles are present.
A tool to measure just how many particles are suspended in the sky was developed by Horace Bénédict de Saussure, an 18th-century Swiss geologist and alpine explorer. Called a cyanometer, it is a colour wheel featuring 53 different colours for the observer to compare to the sky.

Ozone blue at twilight

If you sky watch at dusk, you’ll see a brilliant display of colour that captures intense red tones especially close to the direction of the setting sun. Since the Sun’s evening light travels through much more of our atmosphere than when the Sun is higher in the sky, by the time it reaches us it has lost much of its blue component through Rayleigh scattering. If aerosols are present higher up in the atmosphere – for example caused by volcanic eruptions – this can become far more extended and colourful.
Once the sun is below the horizon, you will see a strong blue colour in the sky again. This cannot fully be explained by Rayleigh or Mie scattering. Instead, this is due to the presence of ozone (a colourless or pale blue gas), which does not scatter the light but absorbs it and breaks it apart.
Its impact is only noticeable when the rays of the sun have to pass through even more atmosphere to reach us (like when it travels from beyond the horizon). The ozone then strongly absorbs red and orange light, making the small amount of light we see in the twilight sky blue.

Red and blue-green night

Venture out at night in a place free of light pollution and its orange sky glow and you might notice that, despite the lack of sunlight, the night time sky is not black at all. Instead, we can sometimes observe what is called air glow, which is our own atmosphere radiating a faint light. This is caused by atoms – mainly oxygen and nitrogen – forming molecules at an altitude of 100km-300km.
This glow is always present but usually too faint to see. But it contributes to the sky turning a very dark red or blue-green colour. You can capture it with cameras that are more sensitive than the eye. But at low light levels, our eyes lose their colour vision and merely see a grey blackness.

20. International Criminal Court (ICC)

Subject – IR

Context – World Court Prosecutor Seeks Nod To Resume Probe Into Afghanistan War Crimes

Concept –

To know about ICC, please click here and here.

ICC vs ICJ –

21. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Subject – IR

Context – EU, U.S. urge Iran to grant access to IAEA

Concept –

To know about IAEA, please click here.

22. Cyclone Re-emergence

Subject – Geography

Context – Cyclone Gulab could give rise to another cyclone

Concept –

India has a bi-annual cyclone season that occurs between March to May and October to December. But on rare occasions, cyclones do occur in June and September months.
Cyclones are less common during the June to September monsoon season, as there are limited or almost no favourable conditions for cyclogenesis due to strong monsoon currents. This is also the period when the wind shear — that is, the difference between wind speeds at lower and upper atmospheric levels — is very high. As a result, clouds do not grow vertically and monsoon depressions often fail to intensify into cyclones.
However, this year, Cyclone Gulab developed in the Bay of Bengal and later made landfall close to Kalingapatanam in Andhra Pradesh.
So it can be stated that this year, the cyclone season commenced earlier than usual. The last time a cyclone developed in the Bay of Bengal in September was Cyclone Day in 2018.

What favoured formation of Cyclone Gulab?

Three factors — the in-sync phase of Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), warm sea surface temperatures over the Bay of Bengal, and the formation of a low pressure system on September 24 along lower latitudes — aided cyclogenesis.
The system’s intensification phases between low pressure – well-marked low pressure – depression – deep depression and to finally becoming Cyclone Gulab was rather rapid, even as the system moved closer to the south Odisha – north Andhra Pradesh coast, where it also made landfall.

How common is it for cyclones to re-emerge?

“Climatologically, the frequency of cyclones re-emerging may be less but these are not rare events.”
In the recent past, Vere Severe Cyclone Gaja (November 2018) had formed in the Bay of Bengal. After making a landfall near Tamil Nadu coast, the system moved westwards and re-emerged off central Kerala coast in the Arabian Sea.
With the present warm conditions prevailing over the north Arabian Sea, chances are high that the remnants of Cyclone Gulab could intensify in the coming days. Once it attains the wind speed of cyclone category (68 to 87 kms/hr), the IMD will give it a new name.
“With both the atmospheric and oceanic conditions favouring cyclogenesis, there is strong possibility that the system could re-emerge in the north Arabian Sea close to Gujarat coast.”
Corroborating this probability of system intensification and further westward movement, the chances of another cyclone developing is ‘moderate’, that is, 51 to 75 per cent chances in favour.
“The re-emergent system may not affect India, but IMD has alerted the Indian Ocean countries as the warning is important for fishermen who are already out in the sea”.

23. Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)

Subject – Security

Context – Army trying to fix issues with indigenous guns. It is working with DRDO and OFB.

Concept –

To know about OFB, please click here.

24. Article 30 (2) of Constitution

Subject – Polity

Context – An institution’s right to govt. aid is not a fundamental right: SC

Concept –

What is Article 30 of the Indian Constitution?

Article 30 of the Indian Constitution states the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.
It says: “All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”

When was Article 30 adopted?

Article 30 was adopted on December 8, 1948.

Features of Article 30 of the Indian Constitution

Article 30 of the Indian constitution consists of provisions that safeguard various rights of the minority community in the country keeping in mind the principle of equality as well.
Article 30(1) says that all minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
Article 30(1A) deals with the fixation of the amount for acquisition of property of any educational institution established by minority groups.
Article 30(2) states that the government should not discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language, while giving aid.

SC recent ruling –

The right of an institution, whether run by a majority or minority community, to get government aid is not a fundamental right. Both have to equally follow the rules and conditions of the aid.
All that Article 30(2) states is that on the ground that an institution is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language, grant of aid to that educational institution cannot be discriminated against, if other educational institutions are entitled to receive aid.
If the government made a policy call to withdraw aid, an institution cannot question the decision as a “matter of right”. An institution is free to choose to accept the grant with the conditions or go its own way.

25. Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020

Subject – Economy

Context – Centre to extend foreign trade policy till March ’22

Concept –

It provided a framework for increasing exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment and increasing value addition in the country, in keeping with the “Make in India” vision of Prime Minister.
The focus of the new policy is to support both the manufacturing and services sectors, with a special emphasis on improving the ‘ease of doing business’.
It described the market and product strategy and measures required for trade promotion, infrastructure development and overall enhancement of the trade ecosystem.

Features of the FTP

Goods– Earlier there were 5 different schemes (Focus Product Scheme, Market Linked Focus Product Scheme, Focus Market Scheme, Agri. Infrastructure Incentive Scrip, VKGUY) for rewarding merchandise exports with different kinds of duty scrips with varying conditions attached to their use.
Duty-free scrips are paper authorisations that allow the holder to import inputs which are used to manufacture products that are exported, or to manufacture machinery used for producing such goods, without paying duty equivalent to the printed value of the scrip.
For instance, a duty-free scrip valued at Rupees 1 lakh allows the holder to import goods without paying duty of up to Rupees 1 lakh on the goods.
Under the new Foreign Trade Policy, all these schemes have been merged into a single scheme, namely the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (“MEIS“)and there is no conditionality attached to scrips issued under the MEIS.
Services– The Served From India Scheme has been replaced with the Service Exports from India Scheme (“SEIS“).
SEIS is stated to apply to ‘Service Providers located in India’ instead of ‘Indian Service Providers’.
Therefore, SEIS rewards to all service providers of notified services, who are providing services from India, regardless of the constitution or profile of the service provider.
Special Economic Zones – The policy outlines extended incentives for Special Economic Zones in India
Export Houses– The nomenclature of Export House, Star Export House, Trading House, Star Trading House, Premier Trading House certificate has been simplified and changed to One, Two, Three, Four and Five Star Export House.
Status Holders– Business leaders who have excelled in international trade and have successfully contributed to India’s foreign trade are proposed to be recognized as Status Holders and given special privileges to facilitate their trade transactions, in order to reduce their transaction costs and time.
Resolving Complaints –In an effort to resolve quality complaints and trade disputes between exporters and importers, a new chapter on Quality Complaints and Trade Disputes has been incorporated into the Foreign Trade Policy.
There would be no conditionality attached to any scrips issued under these schemes.
For grant of rewards under MEIS, the countries have been categorized into 3 Groups, whereas the rates of rewards under MEIS range from 2% to 5%.
Under SEIS the selected Services would be rewarded at the rates of 3% and 5%.
A new institution – Centre for Research in International Trade – is being established not only to strengthen India’s research capabilities in the area of international trade, but also to enable developing countries to articulate their views and concerns from a well-informed position of strength.
Two institutional mechanisms are being put in place for regular communication with stake holders- the board of trade and council for trade development (CTD) and promotion. While the board of trade will have an advisory role, the CTD would have representation from states and UT governments.

26. PM-KUSUM

Subject – Government Schemes

Context – Need to revitalise PM-KUSUM.

Concept –

To know about PM-KUSUM, please click here and here.