Daily Prelims Notes 1 August 2020

  • August 1, 2020
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN
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Table Of Contents

  1. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
  2. Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs)
  3. Impact sea level rise
  4. Sensitivity and specificity in testing
  5. Core sector
  6. Black rain

1. Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Subject: History

Context:

Tilak’s death anniversary is observed on August 1

Concept:

  • Born on July 23, 1856, Tilak was a mathematician, philosopher, scholar and social reformer.
  • To impart quality education to the country’s youth, he founded the Deccan Education Society in 1884.
  • He also started two weeklies, Kesari (in Marathi) and Mahratta (in English), through which he criticised British policies of that time.
  • Tilak joined the Congress in 1890, but due to ideological differences, he and his supporters were known as extremist leaders within the party.
  • British arrested him on the charges of sedition in 1906 and a court sentenced him to six years of imprisonment in Mandalay (Burma)
  • He was popularly known as Lokmanya. The famous slogan, “Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it”, was coined by him.
  • Tilak with Annie Besant, Joseph Baptista, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah founded the All India Home Rule League in 1916.
  • In the same year, he concluded the Lucknow Pact with Jinnah, which provided for Hindu-Muslim unity in the nationalist struggle.
  • When BalGangadharTilak was imprisoned during the freedom struggle, he wrote a book titled ‘Gita-Rahasya’.
  • The events like the Ganapati festival and ShivajJayanti were used by Tilak to build a national spirit beyond the circle of the educated elite in opposition to colonial rule.

2. Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs)

Subject: Polity

Context:

COVID-19 has brought in unprecedented challenges to India’s metropolitan cities, which highlights the limited capabilities of local governments in cities

Concept:

  • The Constitution mandates formation of Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs) in all metropolitan areas with a million-plus population.
  • MPCs are envisioned to ensure integrated planning for the entire metropolitan area, and are responsible for the preparation of draft development plans, synthesising priorities set by local authorities, State and Central governments.
  • Article 243 ZE of Part IX A provides for establishment of the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC)
  • The State legislature may by law make provision with respect to-
    • the composition of the Metropolitan Planning Committees;
    • the manner in which the seats in such Committees shall be filled: Provided that not less than two-thirds of the members of such Committee shall be elected by, and from amongst, the elected members of the Municipalities and Chairpersons of the Panchayats in the Metropolitan area in proportion to the ratio between the population of the Municipalities and of the Panchayats in that area;
    • the representation in such Committees of the Government of India and the Government of the State and of such organisations and institutions as may be deemed necessary for carrying out the functions assigned to such Committees;
    • the functions relating to planning and coordination for the Metropolitan area which may be assigned to such Committees;
    • the manner in which the Chairpersons of such Committees shall be chosen.
  • The Chairperson of every Metropolitan Planning Committee shall forward the development plan, as recommended by such Committee, to the Government of the State.

3. Impact sea level rise

Subject: Environment

Context:

In a study, researchers predict that by 2100, the global population potentially exposed to episodic coastal flooding will increase from 128-171 million to 176-287 million.

Findings:

  • Sea-level rise (SLR) is a “well accepted” consequence of climate change.
  • Globally, of the 68 per cent area that is prone to coastal flooding, over 32 per cent can be attributed to regional SLR
  • Because sea level rise is not uniform across the world, there is a need to differentiate regional SLR from the global rates. For instance, the gravitational pull of the polar ice sheets has different effects on sea levels in different parts of the world, which means regional SLR can be higher or lower than the global SLR.

Impact:

  • Habitat contraction
  • Loss of functionality and biodiversity
  • Lateral and inland migration.

4. Sensitivity and specificity in testing

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

Important parameters in COVID testing

Concept:

  • Sensitivity measures how often a test correctly generates a positive result for people who have the condition that’s being tested for (also known as the “true positive” rate). A test that’s highly sensitive will flag almost everyone who has the disease and not generate many false-negative results.
  • Specificity measures a test’s ability to correctly generate a negative result for people who don’t have the condition that’s being tested for (also known as the “true negative” rate). A high-specificity test will correctly rule out almost everyone who doesn’t have the disease and won’t generate many false-positive results.

5. Core sector

Subject: Economy

Context:

The output of eight core sector industries shrank for the fourth straight month in June 2020 but contraction eased to 15% from 22% fall in May

Concept:

  • Core industry can be defined as the main industry which has a multiplier effect on the economy.
  • In most countries, there is particular industry that seems to be backbone of all other industries and it qualifies to be the core industry.
  • The eight Core Industries in decreasing order of their weightage: Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.
  • The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

6. Black rain

Subject: History

Context:

Important ruling was given for black rain survivors in Japan

Concept:

  • The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and another one on Nagasaki three days later on August 9 as part of second world war.
  • Thousands of people died in both cities in due to their exposure to radiation from the blast and also from the black rain that fell in the aftermath of the explosions.
  • An estimated 69 per cent of the buildings in Hiroshima were destroyed by the atomic bomb.
  • The debris and soot from this, mixed with the radioactive fallout from the bomb, rose high into the atmosphere in the form of a mushroom cloud. This material combined with the vapor in the atmosphere and came down as dark drops of liquid that has been called black rain.
  • Black rain is full of highly radioactive material.

Effects:

  • A study conducted in the year 1945 itself showed that black rain had come down as far as 29 km away from ground zero.
  • The rain contaminated everything it came in contact with, and dead fish were reported floating in water bodies and severely ill cattle were seen lying in the fields.
  • Black rain has caused acute radiation symptoms (ARS), nausea and diarrhoea for weeks. Other ARS include fever, sore throat and loss of hair. Over time, many people who were exposed to black rain have developed cancer.
Prelims Notes