Daily Prelims Notes 1 July 2020

July 1, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

1. Fiscal deficit and Controller General of Account

Subject: Economy

Context:

Central government has reported that its fiscal deficit exceeded more than half its Budget Estimate (BE) in the first two months of the current fiscal (FY 20-21)

Concept:

This was primarily because of a crunch in tax and non-tax revenues and capital receipts. It was 52 per cent for the corresponding period last year.
According to the Controller General of Accounts, net tax revenue for April-May was 2.1 per cent of the full-year target, compared with 7 per cent a year ago. Non-tax revenue was 2.8 per cent, compared with 9.1 per cent last year, and non-debt capital receipt was 0.4 per cent, as against 2.6 per cent a year ago.

Fiscal deficit

Fiscal Deficit is the difference between the total income of the government (total taxes and non-debt capital receipts) and its total expenditure.
It is an indication of the total borrowings needed by the government.
A fiscal deficit situation occurs when the government’s expenditure exceeds its income

Controller General of Account

Controller General of Accounts (CGA), in the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, is the Principal Accounting Adviser to Government of India and is responsible for establishing and maintaining a technically sound Management Accounting System.
The Office of CGA prepares monthly and annual analysis of expenditure, revenues, borrowings and various fiscal indicators for the Union Government.
The Annual Appropriation Accounts (Civil) and Union Finance Accounts are submitted to Parliament under Article 150 of the Constitution.

2. Index of eight Core industries

Subject: Economy

Context:

The output of eight core infrastructure industries shrank by 23.4 per cent in May due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, according to the official data.

Concept:

The index was released by the Office of Economic Affairs under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
Out of the total items in the Index of Industrial Production, the Eight Core Industries comprises of 40.27 percent weight of the total.
The Eight Core Industries are: (i) Coal (ii) Crude Oil (iii) Natural Gas (iv) Refinery Products (v)Fertilizers (vi) Steel (vii)Cement (viii) Electricity

Already covered in-depth in previous DPN

3. Extreme Climatic events

Subject: Environment

Context:

The major cause of worst locust attack after gap of 26 years is extreme weather events linked to climate change.

Concept:

Extreme weather events include unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution, the range that has been seen in the past.
As the world has warmed, that warming has triggered many other changes to the Earth’s climate.
Changes in extreme weather and climate events, such as heat waves and droughts, are the primary way that most people experience climate change.
Human-induced climate change has already increased the number and strength of some of these extreme events.

4. GST

Subject: Economy

Context:

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime completes three years since it was first introduced on July 1, 2017
Concept:

The GST aims to streamline the taxation structure in the country and replace a gamut of indirect taxes with a singular GST to simplify the taxation procedure.
It has been established by the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act.
It is an indirect tax for the whole country on the lines of “One Nation One Tax” to make India a unified market.
Taxes like excise duty, VAT, service tax, luxury tax will go with GST’s implementation.
GST is essentially a consumption tax and is levied at the final consumption point. The principle used in GST taxation is Destination Principle.
It is levied on the value addition and provides set offs. As a result, it avoids the cascading effect or tax on tax which increases the tax burden on the end consumer.
There is a provision of GST Council to decide upon any matter related to GST whose chairman in the finance minister of India. It will approve all decision related to taxation in the country. It consists of Centre, states and UTs with legislature. Centre has 1/3rd voting rights and states have 2/3rd voting rights. Decisions are taken after a majority in the council.
GSTN is registered as a not-for-profit companyunder the companies Act. It has been formed to set up and operate the information technology backbone of the GST. While the Central (24.5%) and the state (24.5%) governments hold a combined stake of 49%, the remaining 51% stake is divided among five financial institutions

5. Accelerate Vigyaan

Subject: Schemes

Context:

Union government has initiated “Accelerate Vigyan” scheme to push scientific research

Concept:

Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has launched this new scheme to provide a single platform for research internships, capacity building programs, and workshops across the country.
The primary objective of this inter-ministerial scheme is to give more thrust on encouraging high-end scientific research and preparing scientific manpower, which can lead to research careers and knowledge-based economy.
The AV will work on mission mode, particularly with respect to its component dealing with consolidation / aggregation of all major scientific events in the country.
Thus, an Inter-Ministerial Overseeing Committee (IMOC) involving all the scientific ministries/departments and a few others has been constituted for the purpose of supporting SERB in implementing the AV scheme in a successful manner.

6. State of the World Population Report 2020

Subject: Reports

Context:

The State of World Population 2020 report released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Concept:

Findings

Theme: Against my will – Defying the practices that harm women and girls and undermine equality
Every year, millions of girls are subjected to practices that harm them physically and emotionally, with the full knowledge and consent of their families, friends and communities
At least 19 harmful practices, ranging from breast ironing to virginity testing, are considered human rights violations, according to the UNFPA report, which focuses on the three most prevalent ones: female genital mutilation, child marriage, and extreme bias against daughters in favour of sons.
There is extreme preference for sons over daughters in some countries have fueled gender-biased sex selection or extreme neglect that leads to their death as children, resulting in 140 million “missing females.”

About India:

India accounts for 45.8 million of the world’s 142.6 million “missing females” over the past 50 years. “Missing females” are women missing from the population at given dates due to the cumulative effect of postnatal and prenatal sex selection in the past.
Preference for a male child manifested in sex selection has led to dramatic, long-term shifts in the proportions of women and men in the populations of country.
This demographic imbalance will have an inevitable impact on marriage systems. In countries where marriage is nearly universal, many men may need to delay or forego marriage because they will be unable to find a spouse, the report said. This so-called “marriage squeeze”.
It could result in more child marriages. Some studies suggest that the marriage squeeze will peak in India in 2055.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.
Its mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

7. G4 Flu virus

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

Researchers in China have discovered a new strain of the influenza virus which they claim has the potential to turn into a pandemic.

Concept:

The scientists identified the virus through surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs that they carried out from 2011 to 2018 in ten provinces of China.
They found that the G4 strain has the capability of binding to human-type receptors (like, the SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to ACE2 receptors in humans), was able to copy itself in human airway epithelial cells
While researchers have found that the virus can spread from animal to human, there is still no evidence about the passing to the G4 virus from human to human.

8. Globba Andersonii Plant

Subject: Environment

Context:

Researchers have “rediscovered” a rare plant species called Globbaandersonii from the Sikkim Himalayas near the Teesta river valley region after a gap of nearly 136 years.

Concept:

It is “critically endangered” and “narrowly endemic”, the species is restricted mainly to Teesta River Valley region which includes the Sikkim Himalays and Darjeeling hill ranges.
Plant usually grows in a dense colony as a lithophyte (plant growing on a bare rock or stone) on rocky slopes in the outskirts of evergreen forests.
It is especially prevalent near small waterfalls along the roadside leading to these hill forests, which are 400-800 m. above sea level.

9. Namami Ganga

Context:

The World Bank has approved a five year loan to the Namami Gange project worth ₹3,000 crore ($400 million) to develop and improve infrastructure projects to abate pollution in the river basin.

Concept:

Namami GangeProgramme is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
Main pillars of the Namami GangeProgramme are:
Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure
River-Surface Cleaning
Afforestation
Industrial Effluent Monitoring
River-Front Development
Bio-Diversity
Public Awareness
Ganga Gram
National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) was registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act 1860.It acted as implementation arm of National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.
The Act envisages five tier structure at national, state and district level to take measures for prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga and to ensure continuous adequate flow of water so as to rejuvenate the river Ganga as below;
National Ganga Council under chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.
Empowered Task Force (ETF) on river Ganga under chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti
National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG).
State Ganga Committees
District Ganga Committees in every specified district abutting river Ganga and its tributaries in the states.