Daily Prelims Notes 1 April 2021

April 1, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

1 April 2021

Table Of Contents

Subject: Environment

Context: The garden at Government Co-ed Senior Secondary School, Sector 5, RK Puram had started as an initiative by English teacher Ankita Singh Yadav two years ago.

Yadav said that she got her idea for this garden from her own birding and buttery sighting outings at the Bombay Natural History Society’s (BNHS) Conservation Education Centre in Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

Concept:

About BNHS

BNHS is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research.
It was founded on 15 September 1883 and headquartered at Hornbill House, Mumbai.
It supports many research efforts through grants and publishes the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.
Department of Science and Technology has designated it as a ‘Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’.

2. ARTICLE 244 A

Subject: Polity

Context: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promised to implement Article 244 (A) of the Constitution to safeguard the interests of the people in Assam’s tribal-majority districts.

Concept:

Article 244(A) allows for creation of an ‘autonomous state’ within Assam in certain tribal areas.
Inserted into the Constitution in 1969, it also has a provision for a Legislature and a Council of Ministers.
Under Article 244(A)(1), the Parliament may, by law, form within the State of Assam an autonomous State comprising all or any of the tribal areas.

How is it different from the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution?

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution — Articles 244(2) and 275(1) — is a special provision that allows for greater political autonomy and decentralised governance in certain tribal areas of the Northeast through autonomous councils that are administered by elected representatives.
In Assam, the hill districts of Dima Hasao, KarbiAnglong and West Karbi and the Bodo Territorial Region are under this provision.
Article 244(A) accounts for more autonomous powers to tribal areas. In Autonomous Councils under the Sixth Schedule, they do not have jurisdiction of law and order.

3. GLOBAL GENDER GAP REPORT

Subject : International Reports

Context : Recently, the World Economic Forum has released the Global Gender Gap Report 2021.

Concept :

Iceland continued to top the index in 2021, followed by Finland and Norway, while Afghanistan was at the last position of 156.
The report highlighted that South Asia incidentally is one of the worst performing regions, followed only by the Middle East and northern Africa.
In South Asia, Bangladesh was the top performer on the gender gap index with a global ranking of 65, followed by Nepal at 106, Sri Lanka at 116, and Bhutan at 130.
Apart from Afghanistan, Pakistan was the only country behind India on the index with a global ranking of 153.
The report states that many countries have fared worse in this year’s rankings compared to last year’s, on account of economic performance.

About Global Gender Gap Report

It was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The Index benchmarks the evolution of gender-based gaps among four key dimensions i.e. economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
It examines the drivers of gender gaps and outlines the policies and practices needed for a gender-inclusive recovery.
It presents information and data that were compiled and/or collected by the World Economic Forum.

4. AIM PRIME

Subject : Governance

Context : Recently, the NITI Aayog has launched the ‘AIM-PRIME’ (Program for Researchers on Innovations, Market-Readiness & Entrepreneurship).

Concept :

About AIM-PRIME

It is an initiative of the NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in partnership with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
It is a nationwide program which will be implemented by Venture Center (a non-profit technology business incubator).
The first cohort of the program is open to technology developers (early-stage deep tech start-ups, and scientists/ engineers/ clinicians).
The program is also open to CEOs and senior incubation managers of AIM Funded Atal Incubation Centers that are supporting deep tech entrepreneurs.
It is catalyzed by the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor and the Pune Knowledge Cluster.

5. AVALANCHE

Subject : Geography

Context : BRO worker dies trapped in snow as avalanche hits Zoji La in Ladakh

Concept :

Avalanche is a rapid downslope movement of a large detached mass of snow, ice, and associated debris such as rocks and vegetation.
Small avalanches, or Sluffs, occur in large numbers, while large avalanches that may encompass slopes a kilometer or more in length with millions of tons of snow, occur infrequently but cause most of the damage.
Humans have been exposed to the threat of sliding snow for as long as they have inhabited mountainous regions.

Types of Avalanches:

Loose snow avalanches-formed in snow with little internal cohesion among individual snow crystals.
Slab avalanches-Originate in snow with sufficient internal cohesion to enable a snow layer, or layers, to react mechanically as a single entity.
Wet snow avalanches-These move more slowly than dry ones and are seldom accompanied by dust clouds.
Direct action avalanches –These are the immediate result of a single snowstorm. They usually involve only fresh snow.
Climax avalanches-Result of a series of snowstorms or a culmination of weather influences. Their fall is not necessarily associated with a current storm or weather situation.

6. BANDHAVGARH NATIONAL PARK

Subject : Environment

Context : Recently, a wildfire that had spread across several zones in Bandhavgarh National Park has been brought under control.

Concept :

About Bandhavgarh National Park

It is located in the Vindhya Hills of the Umaria district in Madhya Pradesh.
It is known for the Royal Bengal Tigers.
It was declared as a national park in 1968.
The name Bandhavgarh has been derived from the most prominent hillock of the area of Umaria.
It consists of mixed vegetation ranging from tall grasslands to thick Sal forest.
It resides on the extreme north eastern border of Madhya Pradesh and the northern edges of the Satpura mountain ranges.

7. DNA PROFILING

Subject : Science & tech

Context :Rape-accused to move court after DNA report rules out his paternity.

Concept :

DNA fingerprinting or DNA profiling is method of isolating and identifying variable elements within the base-pair sequence of DNA.
DNA fingerprinting technology is utilised by police all over the world for fool-proof identification of criminals who leave their traces at crime scene while committing crime.
The technology plays a crucial role in solving crimes as it has potential to link a series of crimes by placing the suspects by linking them with the crime scene.

Significance

It is extremely useful and accurate technology in ascertaining the identity of a person from his/her DNA sample, or establishing biological relationships between individuals.
As a result, DNA technology is being increasingly relied upon in investigations of crime, identification of unidentified bodies, or in determining parentage.
But information from DNA samples can reveal intrusive information like their allergies, or susceptibility to diseases. As a result, there is a greater risk of information from DNA analysis getting misused.

8. PLIFOR FOOD PROCESSING SECTOR

Subject : Government Schemes

Context : The Union Cabinet has approved the Central Sector Scheme – “Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI)” with an outlay of Rs. 10900 crore.

Concept :

The objectives of the Scheme are to support food manufacturing entities with stipulated minimum Sales and willing to make minimum stipulated investment for expansion of processing capacity and Branding abroad to incentivise emergence of strong Indian brands.
The scheme will be rolled out on All India basis.
The scheme shall be implemented through a Project Management Agency (PMA). The Scheme would be monitored at Centre by the Empowered Group of Secretaries chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.
The duration of the scheme will be six years i.e., 2021-22 to 2026-27. The incentive under the scheme would be paid for six years ending 2026-27.
The scheme is “fund-limited”, i.e., cost shall be restricted to the approved amount.

9. CRUISE SERVICE

Subject : Economy

Context : Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways (I/C) Shri Mansukh Mandaviya flagged off the Cruise service from Hazira Port of Surat to Diu today via video conferencing.

Concept :

For the cruise between Surat and Diu, the one side voyage time will be approximately 13 to 14 hours.
The new cruise has a capacity of 300 passengers and has 16 cabins and will sail two round trips in a week.
The cruise has a VIP lounge, gaming lounge, entertainment on deck as well as other modern amenities.
One side journey of the cruise ship will cost Rs. 900 + Taxes (per head).

Hazira-GhoghaRoPAX Service:

PM Modi earlier inaugurated Hazira-GhoghaRoPAX Service and within four months of its inauguration, the ferry service was utilized by one lakh passengers and thousands of vehicles to save the cost of travel and journey time from Hazira (Surat) to Ghogha (Bhavanagar).

10. MILITARY FARMS

Subject : Defence

Context : Indian Army Formally Closes Down Military Farms

Concept :

Military Farms were set up with sole requirement of supplying hygienic cow’s milk to troops billeted in various garrisons across British India.
First Military farm was raised on 01 Feb 1889 at Allahabad.
After independence Military Farms flourished with 30,000 heads of cattle in 130 Military Farms all over India. Military Farms were even established in Leh and Kargil in late 1990s, with the role of supply of fresh and hygienic milk to troops at their locations on daily basis.
Another major task was management of large tracts of defence land, production and supply of Baled Hay to animal holding units.
Military Farms are credited with pioneering the technique of Artificial Insemination of cattle and introduction of organised Dairying in India.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, they established “Project Freiswal”, credited to be the world’s largest cattle cross-breeding program.
They also teamed up with DRDO in development of Bio-Fuel.
After 132 years of glorious service to the nation, curtains were drawn on this organisation.

11. SMALL SAVINGS INSTRUMENTS

Subject : Economy

Context : The government has sharply slashed the rates on all small savings instruments for the first quarter of 2021-22.

Concept :

It has brought the rate of return on the Public Provident Fund down from 7.1% to 6.4% and effecting cuts ranging from 40 basis points (0.4%) to 110 basis points (1.1%) through a notification.
The sharpest cut was seen in the quarterly interest rate paid on one-year term deposits, from 5.5% in the January to March quarter to 4.4% in this quarter.
The rate of return on the Senior Citizen Savings’ Scheme was cut from 7.4% to 6.5%, while the SukanyaSamriddhi Account Scheme’s return was reduced from 7.6% to 6.9%.
The interest rate paid on National Savings Certificate and KisanVikasPatra were also reduced significantly, from 6.8% to 5.9%, and from 6.9% to 6.2%, respectively. Consequently, the KisanVikasPatra, which used to mature in 124 months, will now mature in 138 months.
While savings deposits earned the lowest rate of 4% till now, that return has now been further slashed to 3.5%. Among time deposits, the return on five year deposits has been reduced from 6.7% to 5.8%.
For savers, the option with the highest returns at this point is the SukanyaSamriddhi Account Scheme, followed by the Senior Citizens’ Savings Schemes and the Public Provident Fund.

About SukanyaSamriddhiYojana:

It is a small deposit scheme for the girl child launched as a part of the ‘BetiBachaoBetiPadhao’ campaign.
A SukanyaSamriddhi Account can be opened any time after the birth of a girl till she turns 10, with a minimum deposit of Rs 250 (Earlier it was Rs 1,000). In subsequent years, a minimum of Rs 250 and a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh can be deposited during the ongoing financial year.
The account can be opened in any post office or authorised branches of commercial banks.
The account will remain operative for 21 years from the date of its opening or till the marriage of the girl after she turns 18.
To meet the requirement of her higher education expenses, partial withdrawal of 50% of the balance is allowed after she turns 18.

12. CORE OUTPUT SECTORS

Subject : Economy

Context : Output of eight core sectors contracts 4.6% in February – highest in six months.

Concept :

The eight-core sector industries include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity
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).
These core industries are considered as main or key industries of the economy and serve as the backbone of all other industries.

Index of Industrial Production:

It is an index that tracks manufacturing activity in different sectors of an economy.
All India IIP is a composite indicator that measures the short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during a given period.
It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).