Daily Prelims Notes 15 August 2020

August 15, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Table Of Contents

1. Ayush for immunity campaign

Subject:

Context:

The Ministry of AYUSH launched a three-month campaign on “Ayush for Immunity”

Concept:

A three-month campaign aimed at increasing awareness about affordable and easy practices that can be adopted for enhancing immunity and preventing any disease.
It focused on need to enhance immunity and the requirement of lifestyle change in the current scenario.
It presented a larger vision of the potential life-enhancing influence of Ayurvedic and other Ayush practices.
There is need for behavioural change in people towards immunity-enhancing steps and highlighted the evidence which has established the positive role of traditional medicines and practices in enhancing immunity.
AYUSH Ministry was created in 2014 for focused attention for development of Education and Research in Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy

2. SARABHAI CRATER

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

ISRO recently released some images of the Moon captured by Chandrayaan-2 and one of the craters has been named after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme

Concept:

Sarabhai crater is about 250 to 300 kilometres east of the crater where the Apollo 17 and Luna 21 Missions previously landed.
The Sarabhai crater, captured in 3D images, has a depth of around 1.7 kilometres.
The Sarabhai crater is eight kilometres in diameter, and located in the Mare Serenitatis in the Northeast quadrant of the Moon. The crater was previously known as Bessel A.
The Mare Serenitatis is one of the lunar maria which are vast lava plains on the moon that were formed between 3.9 and 3.8 thousand million years ago.
It was during this period when the Moon was heavily bombarded by asteroids and the major impact basins on the Moon were formed.
This was followed by an episode of lunar volcanism that flooded the basin with basalt creating a fresh and flat surface.

VIKRAM SARABHAI

Based on his persuasion, the Indian government agreed to set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)in 1962. Sarabhai was the first chairman of the committee.
The INCOSPAR was restructured and renamed as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1969.
Sarabhai founded the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad in the year 1947. The laboratory started its operation from RETREAT, Sarabhai’s residence in Ahmedabad. Its first topic of research was cosmic rays.
He also set up India’s first rocket launch site in Thumba, a small village near the Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala.
Vikram Sarabhai was also responsible for bringing cable television to India. His constant contact with NASA paved a way for the establishment of Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in 1975.
Sarabhai was the mastermind behind building India’s first satellite, Aryabhata.
He was one of the founding members of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA).
Vikram Sarabhai received the Padma Bhushanin 1966 for his contribution to India’s progress. He was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1972, posthumously.

3. WHOLE SALE PRICE INDEX & CONSUMER PRICE INDEX

Subject: Economy

Context:

India’s wholesale prices contracted for the fourth straight month in July, official data showed.

Concept:

Inflation can be described as the general rise in the price of goods and services in an economy over time. It’s calculated by tracking the increase in prices of essentials.
The primary index that tracks the change in retail prices of essential goods and services consumed by Indian households is the Consumer Price Index or CPI.
The index assigns different weights to various goods and services in the basket and tracks the movement of their prices. It also tracks the price movement of the entire basket on a pan-India level to calculate the overall inflation figure or CPI inflation.
The other index that measures inflation is the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). While retail inflation looks at the price at which the consumer buys the product, WPI is measured based on prices at the wholesale level.

Difference between WPI and CPI

4. Fit India movement

Subject: Schemes

Context:

Sports Minister has virtually launched the Fit India Freedom Run, a country-wide event that promises to become a fitness phenomenon (between August 15 and October 2)

Concept:

The Fit India Movement is a movement to take the nation on a path of fitness and wellness.
It provides a unique and exciting opportunity to work towards a healthier India.
As part of the movement, individuals and organisations can undertake various efforts for their own health and well-being as well as for the health and well-being of fellow Indians.

5. Environmental Impact Assessment

Subject: Environment

Context:

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has proposed a draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020, that seeks to replace the notification which goes back to 2006.

Concept:

Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to predict the effect of a proposed activity/project on the environment. A decision making tool, EIA compares various alternatives for a project and seeks to identify the one which represents the best combination of economic and environmental costs and benefits
UNEP defines Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a tool used to identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project prior to decision-making. It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and design, find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts, shape projects to suit the local environment and present the predictions and options to decision-makers.
Till 1994, environmental clearance from the Central Government was an administrative decision and lacked legislative support.
On 27 January 1994, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), Government of India, under the Environmental (Protection) Act 1986, promulgated an EIA notification making Environmental Clearance (EC) mandatory for expansion or modernisation of any activity or for setting up new projects listed in Schedule 1 of the notification.
The MoEFrecently notified new EIA legislation in September 2006. The notification makes it mandatory for various projects such as mining, thermal power plants, river valley, infrastructure (road, highway, ports, harbours and airports) and industries including very small electroplating or foundry units to get environment clearance.
Environment Impact Assessment Notification of 2006 has decentralized the environmental clearance projects by categorizing the developmental projects in two categories, i.e., Category A (national level appraisal) and Category B (state level appraisal).
- Category A projects are appraised at national level by Impact Assessment Agency (IAA) and the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) and Category B projects are apprised at state level.
- State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) are constituted to provide clearance to Category B process.

6. Contempt of Courts Act, 1971

Subject: Polity

Context:

Supreme Court has held advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for his tweets against Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Supreme Court.

Concept:

Contempt of court, as a concept that seeks to protect judicial institutions from motivated attacks and unwarranted criticism, and as a legal mechanism to punish those who lower its authority.
Article 129 of the Constitution conferred on the Supreme Court the power to punish contempt of itself.
Article 215 conferred a corresponding power on the High Courts. The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, gives statutory backing to the idea.
According to the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, contempt of court can either be civil contempt or criminal contempt.
Civil contempt means willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or willful breach of an undertaking given to a court.
On the other hand, criminal contempt means the publication of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which
- scandalizes or lowers the authority of, any court; or
- prejudices or interferes with the due course of any judicial proceeding; or
- Interferes or obstruct the administration of justice in any other manner.
A contempt of court may be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both, provided that the accused may be discharged or the punishment awarded may be remitted on apology being made to the satisfaction of the court.

7. Dadabhai Naoroji

Subject: History

Context:

Dadabhai Naoroji presented the first estimates of poverty in his 1877 paper ‘Poverty in India’, subsequently published in his book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India in 1899.
These estimates were closely linked to the idea of freedom not just from the British rule but also from a life of poverty.

Concept:

He is “Grand Old Man of India” because one of the first leaders who stirred national consciousness in the country.
In 1865 and 1866, Naoroji helped found the London Indian Society and the East India Association respectively. The two organisations sought to bring nationalist Indians and sympathetic Britons on one platform.
In 1885, Naoroji became a vice-president of the Bombay Presidency Association, was nominated to the Bombay legislative council by Governor Lord Reay, and helped form the Indian National Congress.
DadabhaiNaoroji was among the key proponents of the ‘Drain Theory’, disseminating it in his 1901 book ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’.
Naoroji argued that imperial Britain was draining away India’s wealth to itself through exploitative economic policies, including India’s rule by foreigners; the heavy financial burden of the British civil and military apparatus in India; the exploitation of the country due to free trade; non-Indians taking away the money that they earned in India; and the interest that India paid on its public debt held in Britain.
He served as the first Indian member of the British parliament.
He was Congress president thrice, in 1886, 1893, and 1906.

8. SWASTHYA portal

Subject: Schemes

Context:

Union Tribal Affairs Minister has e-launched “Swasthya” portal

Concept:

‘Swasthya’ is the first of its kind comprehensive platform for health and nutrition related information of the tribal population of India.
It has a dashboard, knowledge repository, partner segment, Sickle Cell Diseases (SCD) support corner.
The dashboard presents data curated from multiple sources for the 177 identified high priority tribal districts.
In addition, the Portal also has research studies, innovations and best practices on tribal community curated from multiple sources related to tribal health and nutrition.
It is hoped that this Portal will bridge the existing knowledge, drive evidence-based policy making and catalyze a series of actions which will ultimately lead to overall improvements in the health and nutrition status of the tribal population in India.
The Portal will be managed by the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Knowledge Management inHealth and Nutrition, established by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute.

9. Seagrass

Subject: Environment

Context:

The UN environmental programme has released a report warning that fishing trawlers, seaweed farming, and tourism off the coast of Kenya is threatening the survival of seagrasses

Concept:

Seagrasses are flowering marine plants that have adapted to survive in marine conditions. They are mostly found in shallow sandy bottom habitats and can form dense extensive meadows.
There are about 72 seagrass species distributed across the world’s temperate and tropical oceans.
These meadows trap sediment, absorb nutrients and give us clear waters.
They are a source of food, shelter and nursery areas for many organisms, including commercially important fish.
This means that they provide food security for coastal communities by supporting artisanal fisheries and are an integral part of coastal livelihoods. They also support a number of endangered species such as dugongs, sea turtles and sea horses.
Seagrass meadows are also important carbon sinks, capable of trapping carbon from the atmosphere 40 times faster than tropical rainforests and storing it for hundreds of years.

10. Earth Overshoot Day 2020

Subject: Environment

Context:

Earth Overshoot Day 2020 falls on August 22, more than three weeks later than in 2019, according to Global Footprint Network

Concept:

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.
Earth Overshoot Day is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that provides decision-makers with a menu of tools to help the human economy operate within Earth’s ecological limits.
The concept of Earth Overshoot Day was first conceived by Andrew Simms of the UK think tank New Economics Foundation, which partnered with Global Footprint Network in 2006 to launch the first global Earth Overshoot Day campaign. At that time, Earth Overshoot Day fell in October.

11. RLF-100

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

An old drug formulation — RLF-100 — is being probed to treat Covid-19 patients after initial studies have shown that the drug is able to halt SARS-CoV-2 virus replication in lungs.

Concept:

RLF-100, also called Aviptadil, is a formulation of synthetic human Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide (VIP).
VIP is released throughout the body, but remains mostly concentrated in lungs.
It is produced by immune cells and nerve endings and acts as a neurotransmitter. It helps improve muscle activity and blood flow in gastrointestinal tract.
VIP has anti-inflammatory and anti-cytokine activity Preliminary studies have shown this protects alveolar type II cells that are responsible for oxygen exchange in lungs.
Since coronavirus attacks lungs and the alveolar cells, the drug may be helpful in preventing SARS-CoV-2 onslaught in alveolar cell and limit damage in lung.

12. Contingency Risk Buffer

Subject:Economy

Context:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the transfer of ₹57,128 crore as surplus to the government for the accounting year 2019-20, while deciding to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.5%.

Concept:

The risk provisioning made from economic capital to cover monetary, fiscal stability, credit and operation risks is cumulatively referred to as the Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB).