Daily Prelims Notes 3 March 2022

March 3, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

3 March 2022

Table Of Contents

TOPIC: Agriculture

Context- The Centre is planning to enhance the subsidy on “natural farming” by 50 per cent by relaunching the scheme on a mission mode in select blocks.

Concept-

Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP):

BPKP was introduced as a sub scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) since 2020-21 for the promotion of traditional indigenous practices.
The scheme mainly emphasizes on exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs and promotes on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching; use of cow dung-urine formulations; plant-based preparations and time to time working of soil for aeration.
Under BPKP, financial assistance of Rs 12200/ha for 3 years is provided for cluster formation, capacity building and continuous handholding by trained personnel, certification and residue analysis.
In the 2022-23 Budget both the BPKP and PKVY have been subsumed un- der Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).

Natural Farming:

Natural farming also referred to as “the Fukuoka Method“, “the natural way of farming” or “do-nothing farming”, is an ecological farming approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka (1913–2008).
It is based on 5 principles:
- No tillage
- No fertilizer
- No pesticides or herbicides
- No weeding
- No pruning
In India, Natural farming is promoted as Bhartiya PrakritikKrishiPaddhati Programme (BPKP) under ParamparagatKrishiVikas Yojana (PKVY).

***For further information refer to DPN 02 February 2022.

2. CLUSTER BOMBS & THERMOBARIC WEAPONS

TOPIC: Defence & Security

Context- Human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova accused Russia of using cluster bombs and vacuum bombs in the ongoing war.

Concept-

What are cluster bombs?

According to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, a cluster munition means a “conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms, and includes those explosive submunitions”.
Cluster bombs are non-precision weapons that are designed to injure or kill human beings indiscriminately over a large area, and to destroy vehicles and infrastructure such as runways, railway or power transmission lines.
They can be dropped from an aircraft or launched in a projectile that spins in flight, scattering many bomblets as it travels.

What is a thermobaric weapon?

Thermobaric weapons — also known as aerosol bombs, fuel air explosives, or vaccum bombs — use oxygen from the air for a large, high-temperature blast.
A thermobaric weapon causes significantly greater devastation than a conventional bomb of comparable size.
The weapons go off in two separate stages & can be fired as rockets from tank-mounted launchers or dropped from aircraft.
- As they hit their target, a first explosion splits open the bomb’s fuel container, releasing a cloud of fuel and metal particles that spreads over a large area.
- A second explosion then occurs, igniting the aerosol cloud into a giant ball of fire and sending out intense blast waves that can destroy even reinforced buildings or equipment and vaporise human beings.

Is it legal to use these weapons?

Countries that have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions are prohibited from using cluster bombs.
As of date, there are 110 state parties to the convention, and 13 other countries have signed up but are yet to ratify it.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are signatories.
Vacuum bombs are not prohibited by any international law or agreement, but their use against civilian populations in built-up areas, schools or hospitals attract action under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.

3. CENTRAL DEPUTATION OF CIVIL SERVANTS

TOPIC: Polity

Context- The Centre has issued a new order on central deputation of Deputy Inspector General-level IPS officers.

Concept-

What is the order?

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in its order has said that IPS officers coming to the Centre at DIG level would no longer be required to be empanelled at that level with the Union Government.
According to existing rules, a DIG-ranked IPS officer with a minimum experience of 14 years could only be deputed to the Centre if the Police Establishment Board empanelled them as DIGs at the Centre.
The board chooses the panel on the basis of officers’ career and vigilance records.
Only Superintendent of Police-level officers do not require empanelment at the Centre.
The new order makes the entire pool of DIG-level officers in a state eligible for central deputation.
Most states have opposed the move. Opposition-ruled states have called it an attack on the federal structure of the Constitution.

Deputation of AIS Officer and Present Rules:

In normal practice, the Centre asks every year for an “offer list” of officers of the All India Services willing to go on central deputation, after which it selects officers from that list.
Officers have to get a no-objection clearance from the State government for Central deputation.
States have to depute the All India Services (AIS) officers, to the Central government offices and at any point, it cannot be more than 40% of the total cadre strength.

All India Services (AIS):

The All India Services (AIS) comprises the three civil services of India:
- Indian Administrative Service (IAS);
- Indian Police Service (IPS); and
- Indian Forest Service (IFoS).
Federal Nature of AIS Officers: AIS officers are recruited by the Union Government (by UPSC) and their services are allotted under various State Cadres.
- Hence, they have the accountability to serve both under the State and the Centre.
- However, the Cadre Controlling Authority of AIS is the Union Government (DoPT in case of IAS, MHA and MoEFCC in case of IPS and IFoS respectively).

4. THE NEW ELECTRONICS BILL (e- BILL)

TOPIC: Polity

Context- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the new mechanism while inaugurating the Foundation Day event of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the book-keeper of the government.

Concept-

About the electronics bill Processing System:

This e-governance initiative was announced in the Budget 2022-23 by the Finance Minister.
Across all departments and central ministries, the e- Bill system will be implemented.
Implementing this system will help in enhancing efficiency, transparency, and a paperless- faceless payment system.
Through this system contractors and suppliers will be able to submit their claim online and it will be trackable on a real-time basis.

About Electronic Billing:

Electronic billing also known as e-Billing is a way of paying and sending bills electronically rather than through the use of paper.
Customers can get bills online, via email, or in machine-readable data forms when billed electronically.

About Controller General of Accounts:

CGA works under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
Though it itself is not a constitutional body, it derives its mandate from Article 150 of the constitution which says: The accounts of the Union and of the States shall be kept in such form as the President may, on the advice of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, prescribe.
Its statutory mandate {duties and functions} have been defined in the Allocation of Business Rules, 1961, which include:
- defining general principles of government accounting (both state and union) and framing rules, manuals, forms etc.
- Reconciliation of Cash Balance of Union with RBI
- Overseeing of accounting functions.
- Administration of Central Treasury Rules
- Disbursement of payments of Central Civil Pensioners; Freedom Fighters; High Court Judges; Ex MPs and Ex Presidents via Public Sector Banks.

5. UKRAINE CRISIS

TOPIC: Geography

Context- Mr. Modi spoke to Mr. Putin hours after the Indian Embassy in Ukraine issued an “urgent advisory” for all Indian nationals in the war- torn areas of Ukraine.

Concept-

India has been conducting ‘Operation Ganga’ to evacuate its nationals stuck in Ukraine ever since the Russian campaign began on February 24.
In cities such as Sumy and Kharkiv, a large number of Indians are stranded.
The advisory from the embassy in Kyiv asked citizens to proceed to the nearby destinations of Pisochyn, Babay and Bezliudivka.

6. UNEA-5.2

TOPIC: Environment

Context- Representatives from 175 countries meeting at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) in Nairobi (Kenya) March 2, 2022, agreed to end plastic pollution and formulate an internationally binding treaty by 2024.

Concept-

About The resolution to end Plastic Pollution by 2024:

The resolution establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), which will begin its work in 2022, with the ambition of completing a draft global legally binding agreement by the end of 2024.
Under the legally binding agreement, countries will be expected to develop, implement and update national action plans reflecting country-driven approaches to contribute to the objectives of the instrument.
They will be expected to promote national action plans to work towards the prevention, reduction and elimination of plastic pollution and to support regional and international cooperation.

About UNEA:

UNEA was created in June 2012, during the United Nation Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20).
Hosted by the UN Environment Programme, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) brings together representatives of the 193 Member States of the UN, businesses, civil society and other stakeholders to agree on policies to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
It meets biennially to set priorities for global environmental policies and develop international environmental law.
The overall theme for UNEA-5 is “Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.

****For further information refer to DPN 24 February 2022 and 21 January 2022.

7. ENGEL’S LAW

TOPIC: Economy

Context- The pandemic induced lockdowns resulted in a sharp rise in food share across rural and urban India and among all socioeconomic groups comprising various castes and religions, but at diﬀerent rates.

Concept-

The shock of the pandemic caused breakdowns in food supply chains and a fall in food demand, a consequence of loss of income.
The lockdowns resulted in a sharp rise in food share across rural and urban India and among all socioeconomic groups comprising various castes and religions, but at diﬀerent rates.
During the peak of the ﬁrst wave (September 2020), food expenditure shares declined among all households in urban areas.
In rural areas, SCs and STs saw a rise in food shares despite relaxation of restrictions.
Diﬀerent religious groups also experienced a sharp rise in the share of food expenditure in both rural and urban areas.

What is Engel’s Law:

A version is that the poorer a family, the greater the proportion of the total outgo which must be used for food.
- The proportion of the outgo used for food, other things being equal, is the best measure of the material standard of living of a population.
Engel’s Law is a 19th century observation that as household income increases, the percentage of that income spent on food declines on a relative basis.
This is because the amount and quality of food a family can consume in a week or month is fairly limited in price and quantity.
As food consumption declines, luxury consumption and savings increase in turn.
For example, a family that spends 25% of their income on food at an income level of $50,000 will pay $12,500 on food. If their income increases to $100,000, it is not likely that they will spend $25,000 (25%) on food, but will spend a lesser percentage while increasing spending in other areas.

8. UNGA Resolution

Topic: IR

Context: India abstained from voting on UNGA’s special emergency session resolution that condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an immediate call to withdraw its troops.

Concept:

The session was convened after a similar resolution failed to pass the UNSC when Russia exercised its veto.
The resolution says, no territories acquired through force will be recognized and “special military operation” (invasion) by Russia must be withdrawn “immediately, completely and unconditionally.”
Although India’s neighboring countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan and Myanmar voted in favor of the resolution; Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China like India abstained from voting.

Why India abstained from voting?

India urges all member states demonstrate their commitment to the principles of UN charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.
For India, “safe and uninterrupted passage” of Indian nationals, especially students were the foremost priority and it calls for “immediate ceasefire” and humanitarian access to conflict areas.
Further, India is in an uncomfortable position to balance its interests with both Moscow and the West.
Besides, given its experiences in its own neighborhood (China and Pakistan w.r.t border changes), India is also wary of the implications of not condemning one country unilaterally.

To know about UNSC Resolution, refer https://optimizeias.com/unsc-resolutions-2/

9. Pay ₹2 lakh for arresting girl who raised slogans

Topic: State Human Right Commission

Context:

The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has ordered the Tamil Nadu government to pay a compensation of ₹2 lakh to the father of Canada-based Tamil student Lois Sophia, who was arrested for allegedly raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and picking up a heated argument with the then Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Sundararajan on a Chennai–Thoothukludi flight three-and- half years ago.

Content:

SHRC derives its mandate from Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993
The Commission consists of a Chairperson and two Members. The statute lays down qualifications for the appointment of the Chairperson and Members of the Commission. Constitution of NHRC
Person who has been Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court will be chairperson of a SHRC.
Term of the Chairperson and Members of the Commission is three years or 70 years whichever is earlier and shall be eligible for re-appointment.
The chairperson and members are appointed by the Governor on the recommendations of a committee consisting of the chief minister as its head, the speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the state home minister and the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly.
Although the chairperson and members of a State Human Rights Commission are appointed by the governor, they can be removed only by the President(and not by the governor). The President can remove them on the same grounds and in the same manner as he can remove the chairperson or a member of the National Human Rights Commission.