Daily Prelims Notes 1 July 2021

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

Daily Prelims Notes

1 July 2021

Table Of Contents

1. Tussle between Central vs Union Government

Subject : Polity

Context : Recently, a controversy erupted over the new DMK government referring to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ‘union government’ instead of ‘central government’.

Concept :

Central v/s Union Government

Justice (retd) K Chandru had pointed out that more than 70 years after Independence, there is no authorised Tamil translation of the Constitution of India.
The question in the ‘union or centre’ debate is about the nature of the Indian state.
In the Government of India Act, 1935, provinces had more power and the Viceroy had only the minimum but the Indian constitution changed this equation, and the federal government was made more powerful.
The actual power is vested with the Union of India in all respects.
The Tamil Nadu government stated that the Constitution describes India as a “Union of States” and therefore the ideal reference to the Centre would be the “Union Government”.

Constitutional Provisions for Central or Union Government

Article 1(1) of the Constitution of India says that India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.
The chairman of the drafting committee of the Indian Constitution had used the world ‘Union’ because:
The Indian federation was not the result of an agreement by the units; and
The component units had no freedom to secede from the federation.
The Indian Constitution constantly uses the word “Union” to describe the entire country as well as the government that administers it.
Article 53 reads that the executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President.
The ‘Central government’ is a term not used in the original Constitution as passed by the Constituent Assembly.
The Preamble clearly demonstrates the federal form, spirit and content of the Indian Constitution with an open acknowledgement of the centralizing tendencies and the quasi-federal characteristics in the actual working of the Constitution.
The seventh schedule (Article-246) of the Constitution contains the Union List with 97 items, State List with 66 items and Concurrent List with 47 items.

Reasons for use of Central or Union Government

The British Parliament passed the Regulating Act, appointing a governor general to oversee all of British India.
The administration that the governor general ran was often described as the “Central Government” in order to differentiate it from the “provincial governments”.
The Government of India Act 1919 introduced a rudimentary form of self-government and federalism in India and the powers were split between “central” and “provincial” subjects.
The Government of India Act 1935 proposed a merger between British India and the princely states that the term “Federation of India” was first used.
The modern term “Union” was first officially used in 1946 by the Cabinet Mission Plan.

2. National Disaster Management Authority

Subject : National Organisations

Context : The Supreme Court directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to frame guidelines for payment of ex-gratia compensation to family members of persons who succumbed to COVID-19.

Concept :

It also directed the NDMA to ascertain within six weeks ex-gratia amount that can be paid to the family members of those who died due to the infection.
The court’s order came in response to a plea seeking ex-gratia of four lakh rupees each to the families of all those who succumbed to the virus.

NDMA:

Parent body: Ministry of Home Affairs.
Primary Objective: To coordinate response to natural or man-made disasters and for capacity-building in disaster resiliency and crisis response.
Origin: NDMA was established through the Disaster Management Act enacted by the Government of India in 2005.

Organisation setup:

The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairperson of the NDMA, who chairs a 9-member board.
The remainder of the board consists of members nominated based on their expertise in areas such as, planning, infrastructure management, communications, meteorology etc.
The day-to-day management of the agency is overseen by the office of the Vice Chair.

3. Global Cybersecurity Index

Subject : International Reports

Context : According to a United Nations report released, India has jumped 37 places to 10th position in the Global Cyber Security Index (GCI) 2020.

Concept :

About the index:

The GCI is a composite index created, analyzed and published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency of the United Nations.
It measures the commitment to cybersecurity of its 194 member countries to raise cybersecurity awareness.
The latest report is the fourth GCI edition by the ITU, the first version of which was launched six years ago.
Each country’s development or engagement is assessed along five pillars – (i) Legal measures, (ii) Technical measures, (iii) Organizational measures, (iv) Capacity development, and (v) Cooperation- and then aggregated into a composite score.

Global rankings

The top rank in the GCI was achieved by the US with a score of 100.
The UK and Saudi Arabia finished second, tied for next place with a score of 99.54.
In the Asia Pacific region, South Korea and Singapore are on top with a score of 98.52, which ranks fourth globally.
Other countries at the top of the index include Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia (98.06) at fifth place, Lithuania at sixth, Japan at seventh and Canada, France and India at the subsequent positions.
Among other countries, Turkey (97.49) was ranked 11th, Germany (97.41) at 13th, China (92.53) at 33rd and Israel (90.93) at 36th position.

India’s ranking

India ranked 10th in the fourth edition of the Global Cyber Security Index 2020 (GCI), a significant jump of 37 places from its previous GCI rank in 2018.
India also ranks fourth in the Asia-Pacific region.

4. BharatNet implementation through Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model

Subject : Governance

Context : Recently, the Union Cabinet has accorded the approval for revised implementation strategy of BharatNet through Public Private Partnership mode.

Concept :

The BharatNet programme will now extend upto all inhabited villages beyond Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the 16 states of the country.
The revised strategy also includes creation, upgradation, operation, maintenance and utilization of BharatNet by the concessionaire who will be selected by a competitive international bidding process.
The estimated maximum viability gap funding approved for the above PPP model is Rs. 19,041 crores.
The States covered under the approval are Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Significance of PPP Model for BharatNet

It will leverage Private Sector efficiency for operation, maintenance, utilization and revenue generation.
It is expected to result in faster roll out of BharatNet.
The selected concessionaire (Private Sector Partner) is expected to provide reliable, high speed broadband services as per pre-defined Services Level Agreement (SLA).
The extension of reach of BharatNet to all inhabited villages with reliable, quality, high speed broadband will enable better access of e-services offered by various Central and State Government agencies.
It will also enable online education, telemedicine, skill development, e-commerce and other applications of broadband.
It is expected that revenue will be generated from different sources including proliferation of broadband connections to individuals & institutions, sale of dark fibre, Fiberization of mobile towers, e-commerce etc.
The proliferation of broadband in rural areas will bridge the rural-urban divide of digital access and accelerate the achievement of Digital India.
The penetration and proliferation of broadband is also expected to increase direct and indirect employment and income generation.

BharatNet Project

It is a project of national importance to establish a highly scalable network infrastructure accessible on a non-discriminatory basis.
It aims to provide on demand, affordable broadband connectivity of 2 Mbps to 20 Mbps for all households and on demand capacity to all institutions.
It is being funded by Universal service Obligation Fund (USOF).
It is a Centre-State collaborative project, with the States contributing free Rights of Way for establishing the Optical Fibre Network.
The Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) is a special purpose vehicle for management, establishment, and operation of BharatNet.

5. Enforcing Contracts Portal

Subject : Governance

Context : Recently, the Ministry of Law and Justice has launched the “Enforcing Contracts Portal”.

Concept :

The Doing Business Report of World Bank Group benchmarks business regulations across 191 economies of the world.
The Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) index is a ranking system which is an indication of an economy’s position relative to that of other economies across 11 areas of business regulation.
The “Enforcing Contracts” indicator measures time and cost to resolve a standardized commercial dispute as well as a series of good practices in the judiciary.

About Enforcing Contracts Portal

It aims to promote ease of doing business and improve ‘Contract Enforcement Regime’ in India.
It is envisioned to be a comprehensive source of information pertaining to the legislative and policy reforms being undertaken on the “Enforcing Contracts” parameters.
Its objective is to provide easy access to latest information on commercial cases in Dedicated Commercial Courts of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
It aims to provide access to repository of commercial laws for ready reference.

6. Centre’s big push to mega IPO

Subject : Economics

Context : The Centre has now taken another major step towards making insurance behemoth LIC IPO ready by bringing into effect from Wednesday all the 27 legislative changes made to the Life Insurance Corporation Act 1956 through this year’s Finance Act.

Concept :

With this move, the legislative ecosystem to go ahead with the IPO – expected to be the largest ever and could net the exchequer about ₹1 lakh crore – is now in place, say insurance industry observers

Initial Public Offering

IPO is the selling of securities to the public in the primary market.
Primary market deals with new securities being issued for the first time. It is also known as the new issues market.
It is different from secondary market where existing securities are bought and sold. It is also known as the stock market or stock exchange.
It is when an unlisted company makes either a fresh issue of securities or an offer for sale of its existing securities or both for the first time to the public.
Unlisted companies are companies that are not listed on the stock exchange.
It is generally used by new and medium-sized firms that are looking for funds to grow and expand their business.

7. Q4 current account deficit at 8.1 billion on lower receipts

Subject : Economics

Context : India’s current account balance recorded a deficit of $8.1 billion (1% of Gross Domestic Product – GDP) in the quarter ended March 2021 (Q4FY21) on the back of a higher trade deficit and lower net invisible receipts, the Reserve Bank of India said in a release on Wednesday.

Concept :

Current Account Deficit

The current account measures the flow of goods, services, and investments into and out of the country. It represents a country’s foreign transactions and, like the capital account, is a component of a country’s Balance of Payments (BOP).
There is a deficit in Current Account if the value of the goods and services imported exceeds the value of those exported.
A nation’s current account maintains a record of the country’s transactions with other nations, that includes net income, including interest and dividends, and transfers, like foreign aid. It comprises of following components:

Trade of goods,

Services, and

Net earnings on overseas investments and net transfer of payments over a period of time, such as remittances.

It is measured as a percentage of GDP. The formulae for calculating CAD is:
Current Account = Trade gap + Net current transfers + Net income abroad
Trade gap = Exports – Imports
A country with rising CAD shows that it has become uncompetitive, and investors may not be willing to invest there.
In India, the Current Account Deficit could be reduced by boosting exports and curbing non-essential imports such as gold, mobiles, and electronics.
Current Account Deficit and Fiscal Deficit (also known as “budget deficit” is a situation when a nation’s expenditure exceeds its revenues) are together known as twin deficits and both often reinforce each other, i.e., a high fiscal deficit leads to higher CAD and vice versa.

8. Chinese Commuist party

Subject : International Relations

Context : At 100, China’s Communist Party looks to cement its future

Concept :

Chinese Communist Party (CCP), also called Communist Party of China (CPC).
Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the CCP has been in sole control of that country’s government.
The CCP was founded as both a political party and a revolutionary movement in 1921 by revolutionaries such as Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu.
Mao achieved the leadership position in the CCP that he held until his death in 1976. Other important leaders who supported him in that period were Zhou Enlai and Zhu De.
With more than 85 million members, the CCP is one of the largest political parties in the world. It is a monolithic, monopolistic party that dominates the political life of China.
It is the major policy-making body in China, and it sees that the central, provincial, and local organs of government carry out those policies.

Party Organisation

The CCP’s structure is as follows. Once every five years or so, a National Party Congress of some 2,000 delegates (the number varies) meets in plenary session to elect a Central Committee of about 200 full members, which in turn meets at least once annually.
The Central Committee elects a Political Bureau (Politburo) of about 20–25 full members; that body is the ruling leadership of the CCP.
The Political Bureau’s Standing Committee of about six to nine of its most-authoritative members is the highest echelon of leadership in the CCP and in the country as a whole. In practice, power flows from the top down in the CCP.
The CCP’s Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day administrative affairs of the CCP. The general secretary of the Secretariat is formally the highest-ranking official of the party.
The CCP has a commission for detecting and punishing abuses of office by party members, and it also has a commission by which it retains control over China’s armed forces.
The CCP has basic-level party organizations in cities, towns, villages, neighbourhoods, major workplaces, schools, and so on.
The main publications of the CCP are the daily newspaper Renmin Ribao (English-language version: People’s Daily) and the biweekly theoretical journal Qiushi (“Seeking Truth”), which replaced the former monthly journal Hongqi (“Red Flag”) in 1988.