Daily Prelims Notes 2 April 2022

DAILY PRELIMS NOTES

2 April 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Look out notice
2. 40 yrs after treaty, Antarctic Bill introduced in LS
3. The Complete Human Genome
4. J Form
5. Hydroelectric Power Projects In Manipur
6. Private member’s bill to regulate population withdrawn in RS
7. Retail prices of petrol and diesel need to soften to provide much-needed relief to consumer
8. Softbank slowing down investments and possible impact in India
9. Darlong community in ST list
10. Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojna

1. Look out notice

Subject: Polity

Section: National Organisation

Context: Journalist Rana Ayyub’s was stopped in Mumbai on Tuesday evening based on a look out circular (LOC) issued by the ED, which is investigating her in a case of alleged money laundering.

Concept:

What is it, when is it issued?

• An LOC is issued to make sure that an individual who is absconding or wanted by law enforcement agencies is not able to leave the country.
• It is mostly used at immigration checkpoints at international airports and seaports by the immigration branch.
• In certain cases, the police can approach a court asking for the restriction of a person’s movement outside the country, when that person is a suspect and there is an apprehension that they may not join the investigation at a later stage. The subject of an LOC can challenge the circular and get relief from a court.

Who can issue an LOC?

• An LOC can be initiated by a large number of authorised officers, including an officer not below the rank of deputy secretary, an officer not below the rank of joint secretary in the state government, a district magistrate or superintendent of police, designated officers of various law enforcing and security agencies, a designated officer of Interpol, an officer not below the rank of additional director in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
• In 2018, the government also empowered the heads of public sector banks to directly request the authorities to issue an LOC against wilful defaulters to prevent them from leaving the country. So now, an officer not below the rank of chairman/managing director/chief executive of any public sector bank can make a request.
• An LOC can be modified/deleted/withdrawn by the Bureau of Immigration only on the specific request of the authorised originator on whose request the LOC was issued.

Does an LOC lead to arrest?

• Not necessarily. LOCs can be of several types. They can seek to merely stop a person against whom the circular has been issued from travelling outside the country, to prevent a person from entering the country, or inform the concerned investigation agencies.
• The proforma of the LOC also contains a request to detain the individual at the local police/investigation agency, which generally leads to arrest.

What is the difference between an LOC and Interpol notices like the Red Corner Notice?

• While the LOC is mainly to ensure that anyone wanted by the investigating agencies does not leave or enter the country without their knowledge, a Red Corner Notice (RCN), issued by the Interpol, is to ensure that a person who has fled the country where he is wanted, can still be nabbed whenever he tries to enter or leave another country.
• Whenever a person with an Red Corner Notice against him approaches an airport in another country, the immigration officials there inform the country from where the request was made and detain the person.

2. 40 yrs after treaty, Antarctic Bill introduced in LS

Subject: Geography

Section: Climate

Context: Nearly 40 years after India first signed the Antarctic Treaty, the government has brought in a draft Indian Antarctic Bill-2022 to regulate and monitor activities at its research stations in the frozen continent.

Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022

Objectives

• To provide for national measures to protect the Antarctic environment and associated ecosystems and to give effect to the Antarctic Treaty
• To provide a harmonious policy framework for India’s Antarctic activities through a well-established legal mechanism
• Facilitate activities of the Indian Antarctic programme, including management of Antarctic tourism and sustainable development of fisheries
• To prohibit Indian expedition to Antarctica or carrying of certain activities in Antarctica without a permit or the written authorization of another party to the protocol
• To provide for inspection in India by an officer designated by the Central government as an Inspector and to constitute an inspection team to carry out inspections in Antarctica

Key feature

• It will empower the government to establish a committee on Antarctic governance and environmental protection to monitor, implement and ensure compliance with the relevant international laws, emissions standards and rules of protection.
• The panel is to be headed by the secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, as ex officio chairperson.
• Among other roles, he has also been the vice-president of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Science Council since 2018.

Antarctic Treaty

• The Antarctic Treaty was signed between 12 countries in Washington on 1^stDecember 1959 for making the Antarctic Continent a demilitarized zone to be preserved for scientific research only.
  • The twelve original signatories are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the UK and the US.
• It entered into force in 1961and has since been acceded by many other nations.
• Members – Currently it has 54 parties. India became a member of this treaty in 1983.
• Headquarters – Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Major Provisions:
  • Promoting the freedom of scientific research.
  • Countries can use the continent only for peaceful purposes.
  • Prohibition of military activities, nuclear tests and the disposal of radioactive waste.
  • Neutralising territorial sovereignty, this means a limit was placed on making any new claim or enlargement of an existing claim.
  • It put a freeze on any disputes between claimants over their territories on the continent.

Research stations in Antarctic

• Dakshin Gangotri
  • Dakshin Gangotri was the first Indian scientific research base station established in Antarctica, as a part of the Indian Antarctic Program.
  • It has weakened and become just a supply base.
• Maitri
  • Maitri is India’s second permanent research station in Antarctica. It was built and finished in
  • Maitri is situated on the rocky mountainous region called Schirmacher Oasis. India also built a freshwater lake around Maitri known as Lake Priyadarshini.
• Bharti
  Bharti, India’s latest research station operation since 2012. It has been constructed to help researchers work in safety despite the harsh weather.
  • It is India’s first committed research facility and is located about 3000 km east of Maitri.

3. The Complete Human Genome

Subject: Science & Tech

Section: Biotechnology

Context- Two decades after most of the human genome was mapped, scientists have now filled in the gaps that remained.

Concept-

• Nearly two decades ago, when scientists published the map of the human genome for the first time, it was hailed as a breakthrough.
• That was incomplete, however: about 8% of the human DNA was left unsequenced.
• Now, in a series of papers published in Science, a large team has accounted for that 8%, completing the picture of the human genome for the first time.

What was missing:

• The genetic sequence made available in 2003 from the Human Genome Project, an international collaboration between 1990 and 2003, contained information from a region of the human genome known as the euchromatin. Here, the chromosome is rich in genes, and the DNA encodes for protein.
• The 8% that was left out was in the area called heterochromatin. This is a smaller portion of the genome, and does not produce protein.
• Now, the fully sequenced genome is the result of the efforts of a global collaboration called the Telomere-2-Telomere (T2T) project.
• What’s in the 8%

What does genome-mapping tell us?

• According to the Human Genome Project, there are estimated to be over 20,500 human genes.
  • Genome refers to an organism’s complete set of DNA, which includes all its genes and mapping these genes simply means finding out the location of these genes in a chromosome.
• In humans, each cell consists of 23 pairs of chromosomes for a total of 46 chromosomes, which means that for 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell, there are roughly 20,500 genes located on them.
• Some of the genes are lined up in a row on each chromosome, while others are lined up quite close to one another and this arrangement might affect the way they are inherited.
• For example, if the genes are placed sufficiently close together, there is a probability that they get inherited as a pair.
• Genome mapping, therefore, essentially means figuring out the location of a specific gene on a particular region of the chromosome and also determining the location of and relative distances between other genes on that chromosome.

Significance of Genome Mapping:

• A complete human genome makes it easier to study genetic variation between individuals or between populations.
• Genome mapping enables scientists to gather evidence if a disease transmitted from the parent to the child is linked to one or more genes.
• Mapping also helps in determining the particular chromosome which contains that gene and the location of that gene in the chromosome.
• According to the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), genome maps have been used to find out genes that are responsible for relatively rare, single-gene inherited disorders such as cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
• Genetic maps may also point out scientists to the genes that play a role in more common disorders and diseases such as asthma, cancer and heart disease among others.

Human Genome Project:

• In 1990, with support from the US and widespread international collaboration and cooperation, the $3 billion dollar Human Genome Project was launched.
• The project aimed to determine the sequence of the human genome within 15 years.
• Human genome project (HGP) got successfully completed in the year 2003 by sequencing the almost entire human genome (except 8%) of 3.3 billion base pairs.

4. J Form

Subject: Agriculture

Section: Agri Marketing

Context- The Punjab Mandi Board has decided to send a ‘digital form J’ on the WhatsApp number of farmers from this Rabi procurement season,

Concept-

What is the ‘J form’

• ‘J form’ is the sale receipt of a farmer’s agricultural produce in mandis (grain market).
• These forms were earlier issued manually by arthiyas (commission agents) because in Punjab, a majority of farmers sell their crops through such agents only.
• Also, this form is an income proof for a farmer who sells his crop.

How will its digitisation help the farmers?

• Before digitisation of the J form, several arhtiyas had the habit of keeping these forms with themselves, instead of providing it to the farmers, which was their right.
• Hence, many farmers ended up having no record of their income after selling their crops.
• But by getting digitised J form, farmers will now have a clear record of the crop sold and income received in lieu of that and it will save their time as well, ensuring that they do not need to run to arhtiyas to get copies of their sale.
• These forms will be delivered directly on a farmer’s WhatsApp number immediately after a sale is confirmed on the system by the arthiyas and buyers, who are mainly government procurement agencies.
• If any farmer changes his/her WhatsApp number, then they can see the J forms in their digilocker, which are legally at par with original physical documents under Rule 9A of the Information Technology (Preservation and Retention of Information by Intermediaries providing Digital Locker facilities) Rules, 2016 notified on February 8, 2017.

How does the move help farmers?

• The ‘J form’ can be used for
  • raising finance from financial institutions,
  • IT waivers, subsidy claims,
  • farmer’s insurance.
  • get admission for their wards in educational institutes abroad. For example, ‘J form’, which is considered as an authenticate document of income in the Canadian embassy.
  • The move will stop the theft of grains by some arhtiyas.

How will the government benefit?

• The government will have a proper record of the land under cultivation for both the wheat and paddy crops in the state as well as an idea of their average per acre yield.
• Eventually other crops can also be brought under the J form even if the government does not procure the other crops.
• People who are doing sale/purchase in the mandis for the other crops can be asked to log their purchases through the J form to have accuracy of total land and production.
• The system can to a large extent check the sale of crops from other states in the mandis of Punjab.
• This will give them an idea as to how much quantity of a crop was grown in the state.
• In case of unusual procurements, the government will be able to identify accounts from which the fraudulent transaction was made.

5. Hydroelectric Power Projects In Manipur

Subject: Environment

Section: Map

Context- Manipur’s push for dams threatens local ecology and communities.

Concept-

• In 1983, a hydropower project called the Ithai barrage on Manipur (or Imphal) river that uses Loktak as the reservoir came up.
• As of March 2022, the Loktak multipurpose project is Manipur’s only functional hydropower project, with an installed capacity of 105 megawatts (MW) of electricity, and is Manipur’s main source of power.
• Flood has become a regular phenomenon both in the villages upstream and downstream of the Ithai barrage.
• Since then the demand for decommissioning the Ithai barrage has continued to grow. In 2017, the then Manipur governor Najma Heptullah had said at a programme that she was “working very hard for the removal of Ithai barrage” due to its adverse economic and ecological impact.
• However In 2020, following the union government’s drive, the Manipur state government decided to push for hydropower projects.
• It said it estimated the state’s hydropower potential at more than 2,000 MW and identified 29 new projects with a total proposed installed capacity of 300 MW.
• These include projects with a capacity as low as 0.44 MW and 0.78 MW to 49.5 MW.
• Five of them are above 25 MW of proposed/tentative installed capacity, meaning large dams –
  • Barak 4 HE Project (49.5 MW),
  • Irang 3 HE Project (46.50 MW),
  • Ijai HE Project (28.70 MW),
  • Imphal HE Project (28.3 MW) and
  • Barak 3 HE Project (26 MW).
• The state planned to get the detailed project reports for these 29 projects to be formulated by 2022.

Loktak Lake:

• It is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India and is famous for the phumdis floating over it.
• Phumdis are the heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil and organic matter at various stages of decomposition.
• KeibulLamjao National Park is also one of the Phumdis in the lake.
• It is the only floating national park in the world and is the last natural refuge of endangered Sangai deer.
• Loktak lake is a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• It has been listed under the Montreux Record since 1993 (the other wetland in Montreux is the Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan).

Hydropower Scenario in India:

• India is 5th globally for installed hydroelectric power capacity.
• As of 31 March 2020, India’s installed utility-scale hydroelectric capacity was 46,000 MW or 12.3% of its total utility power generation capacity.
• Hydropower potential is located mainly in northern and north-eastern regions.
• Arunachal Pradesh has the largest unexploited hydropower potential of 47 GW, followed by Uttarakhand with 12 GW.
• Unexploited potential is mainly along three river systems – the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra.
• The hilly States of India mainly Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand, and constitute around half of this potential. Other potential States are Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Kerala.
• India also imports surplus hydroelectric power from Bhutan.
• The public sector accounts for 92.5% of India’s hydroelectric power production.

6. Private member’s bill to regulate population withdrawn in RS

Subject: Geography

Section: Human geography

Context:

A private member’s bill moved by BJP member Rakesh Sinha in the Rajya Sabha to regulate the rising population was withdrawn on Friday.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, during the discussion on the bill, said that the population control should happen by creating awareness among people and it should not happen by force and being made compulsory.

Concept

What is Total Fertility Rate (TFR)?

• The total fertility rate is defined as the average number of children that would be born to a woman by the time she ends childbearing.
• According to the UN Population Division, a total fertility rate (TFR) of about 2.1 children per woman is called replacement-level fertility.
• The fertility rate of less than 2.1 implies that the total population will be less than the existing population which is also called the negative growth rate.
• According to the findings of the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-India has achieved a major demographical landmark. It is the first-ever time that the country’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) slipped below the replacement level of 2.1, 5).

7. Retail prices of petrol and diesel need to soften to provide much-needed relief to consumer

Subject: Economy

Section: Fiscal policy

Context: In the past few days, retail prices of petrol and diesel have consistently increased to all-time high levels.

Concept:

• Public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) revise the retail prices of petrol and diesel in India on a daily basis, according to changes in the price of global crude oil.
• The price charged to dealers includes the base price set by OMCs and the freight price.   As on October 16, 2021, the price charged to dealers makes up 42% of the retail price in the case of petrol, and 49% of the retail price in the case of diesel
• The break-up of retail prices of petrol and diesel in Delhi shows that around 54% of the retail price of petrol comprises central and states taxes.  In the case of diesel, this is close to 49%.
• The central government taxes the production of petroleum products, while states tax their sale.  The central government levies an excise duty of Rs 32.9 per litre on petrol and Rs 31.8 per litre on diesel.  These make up 31% and 34% of the current retail prices of petrol and diesel, respectively.
• While excise duty rates are uniform across the country, states levy sales tax/ Value Added Tax (VAT) which varies across states.  For instance, Odisha levies 32% VAT on petrol, while Uttar Pradesh levies 26.8% VAT or Rs 18.74 per litre, whichever is higher.

International crude prices and Petrol prices in India

India’s dependence on imports for consumption of petroleum products has increased over the years.  For instance, in 1998-99, net imports of petroleum products were 69% of the total consumption, which increased to around 95% in 2020-21.  Because of a large share of imports in the domestic consumption, any change in the global price of crude oil has a significant impact on the domestic prices of petroleum products.

Retail prices in India compared to global crude oil price

• Between June 2014 and October 2018, the retail selling prices did not adhere to change in global crude oil prices.  The global prices fell sharply between June 2014 and January 2016, and then subsequently increased between February 2016 and October 2018.  However, the retail selling prices remained stable during the entire period.  This disparity in the change in global and Indian retail prices was because of the subsequent changes in taxes.  For instance, central taxes were increased by Rs 11 and 13 between June 2014and January 2016 on petrol and diesel respectively.  Subsequently, taxes were decreased by four rupees between February 2016 and October 2018 for petrol and diesel.  Similarly, during January-April 2020, following a sharp decline of 69% in the global crude oil prices, the central government increased the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre and Rs 13 per litre, respectively in May 2020.

Share of states in excise duty has decreased over the years

• Though central taxes (such as excise duty) are levied by the centre, it has only 59% of the revenue from these taxes.  The remaining 41% of the revenue is required to be devolved to the state governments as per the recommendations of the 15^thFinance Commission.  These devolved taxes are un-tied in nature, states can spend them according to their own discretion.
• The excise duty levied on petrol and diesel consists of two broad components: (i) tax component (i.e., basic excise duty), and (ii) cess and surcharge component.
• The revenue generated from the tax component is devolved to states.  Revenue generated by the centre from any cess or surcharge is not devolved to states.  Currently, the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess, and the Road and Infrastructure Cess are levied on the sale of petrol and diesel in addition to the surcharge.

In the Union Budget 2021-22, the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development cess on petrol and diesel was announced at Rs 2.5 per litre and Rs 4 per litre, respectively.

Over the last four years, the share of tax component in the excise duty has decreased by 40% in petrol and 59% in diesel.  At present, majority of the excise duty levied on petrol (96%) and diesel (94%) is in the form of cess and surcharge, due to which it is entirely under the centre’s share

Will bringing petrol under GST help?

Taxing policy:

• As of now LPG, kerosene, naphtha, furnace oil, and light diesel oil are under GST.
• Five other petroleum products viz. crude oil, high speed diesel, motor spirit (petrol), natural gas, and aviation turbine fuel lie outside the GST.
• Article 279 A(5) of the Constitution prescribes that the Goods and Service Tax Council shall recommend the date on which GST is to be levied on petroleum and other related fuel.
• At present, Centre levies the excise duty on crude oil which is a specific tax e. charged on the number of units sold irrespective of the prices.
• The state taxes on petroleum products are largely ‘ad valorem’ taxes — i.e. tax is based on the value of the product such as 27 per cent VAT on petrol and 21.43 per cent on diesel by the Tamil Nadu Government. Thus, when the price of diesel is revised by Rs 1 by the oil marketing companies, VAT on diesel gets revised upwards automatically. Similarly, customs duty on imports and road development cess are also levied on ad valorem basis. This results in a cascading effect on any increase in the basic price, thereby fuelling inflation.
• However, in order to protect against sudden drop in revenue due to falling international oil prices, some states have both specific and ad valorem rates. Specific tax triggered only after international price drops. For eg- West Bengal has a sales rate on petrol at 25% or ₹7.70 per litre, whichever is higher. UP, Uttarakhand, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand are some of the other states to follow this approach.

Will inclusion in GST help?

• Even if petrol and diesel are included under GST, prices are unlikely to fall. This is because of the GST principle of keeping rates close to the earlier tax rates.
• The international trend also suggests that if petrol and diesel are included in GST, states levy additional taxes to prop up their revenue.
• Since, the state governments levy value-added tax (VAT) on the fuel price inclusive of central excise duties, not the base price, leading to double taxation and further price amplification. GST may not stop prices from moving up, but will at least ensure no cascading effects of taxes like double taxation.

Prelims Factly:

India is the 3rd largest oil consumer in the world. India imports more than 80% of its requirement of crude and of that more than 60% of its needs from OPEC.

According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), India’s major sources of crude oil are Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Nigeria and the US, with Russia accounting for less than one percent of the total imports in 2021-22 (till January)

8. Softbank slowing down investments and possible impact in India

Subject: Economy

Section: Indian Economy

Context:

The founder of Softbank Masayoshi Son has told his top executives to slow down investments, according to a report by Financial Times.

Cause:

Falling tech stocks and a regulatory crackdown in China –leading to fall in stock of the company.

Impact:

Being one of the biggest investors in India’s start-up and consumer internet ecosystem slowing of investments could lead to:

• Capital outflows from India
• Capital crunch for startups and unicorns.

Concept:

9. Darlong community in ST list

Subject: Geography

Section: Tribes

Context: Darlongs – a small community of around 11,000 people in Tripura – was officially included in the list of Scheduled Tribes after the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

Concept :

Tribes of Tripura

• Tripura has 19 tribal communities.
• These include Tripuri or Debbarma, Reangs or Brus, Jamatia, Noatia, Uchoi, Chakma, Mog, Lushai, Kuki, Munda, Kour, Oram, Santhal, Bhil, Bhutia, Chaimar or Sermai, Garo, Khasi, Lepcha and Halam.
• Many of these communities are further divided into sub-tribes. For example, Kukis have nearly 17-18 sub-tribes within the community. It is an umbrella tribal community including many smaller clans like Khasi, Lushai, Hmars and other generic clans. In course of time, Lushai, Hmar, Garo etc. came out of Kuki as separate communities. Halam community also has several sub-tribes such as Rangkhawl, Ranglong, Dab, Chaimar or Sermai, Bong, Korbong, Harbong, Bongcher etc.

Who are Darlongs?

Darlong is a tribal community of 11,000 people. Despite its small population, the community has a high prevalence of education, cultural activities and members of the community are serving in different high positions in the local administration

Darlongs, despite being Scheduled Tribes, were never given ST certificates. Since they were considered a generic tribe under the Kuki community, they were handed their tribal certificates as members of ‘Kuki’ community. The subsequent identity crisis among them, especially Darlong youths, who were equipped with modern education, culminated in the demand for a separate statutory identity of their own in 1995.

The group is a small tribal clan but has produced a high number of educated people proportionate to its population in the state. People from the Darlong community, like many other tribal communities, are now serving in high positions in the state administration, academia, and public services. Tribal musicologist and Rosem (tribal instrument) maestro Thanga Darlong was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award a few years back for his contribution to culture.

10. Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojna

Subject: Government Schemes

Section: Tribal welfare

Concept:

• It is on line of Adarsh Gram.
• These villages have tribal population of more than 500 and 50% tribals. An amount of Rs. 1354 cr. has been allocated which will be utilized as a gap filling arrangement in addition to the STC component of Rs. 87,524 crores allocated to different Ministries for tribal welfare programmes relating to their respective schemes. For next five years an amount of Rs. 7276 cr. has been approved by the cabinet.