Daily Prelims Notes 11 January 2023

January 11, 2023
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

11 January 2023

Table Of Contents

1. China + 1 to EU+1

Subject : Economy

Context:

China + 1

China-plus-one is a strategy in which companies avoid investing only in China and diversify their businesses to alternative destinations.
China was an attractive investment location due to the low cost of labour and production and an increasing domestic consumer market.
Companies started to think of alternative locations to invest because of the supply chain disruptions during the past year caused by the pandemic and China’s zero-Covid policy. This was fueled by associated container shortage thus causing uncertainty and disrupted the supply of materials.
The China-plus-one model gave the EU, Mexico, Taiwan, and Vietnam a boost because companies began investing in these alternate locations. India was also at an advantage since MNCs started investing in emerging countries and India was a viable option because of its low production cost and favorable business environment.

EU+1

There are fears that companies might start to disinvest across Europe because of poor gas supply. This may cause blackouts and shortages all through winter. Factory shutdowns may also be a consequence. Europe will also propose a mandatory target for reducing electricity consumption. This will eventually lead to lower production and supply chain disruptions thus causing losses for companies with manufacturing units across Europe.

Impact on India

This makes India an attractive destination for investment. The huge investment by the government in infrastructure will prove to be a boon as it will accelerate foreign investment. India can provide a base for the manufacturing and production units of large companies if it takes steps to promote such investment.

2. World Bank

Subject : Economy

Context: The World Bank has retained growth forecast for India at 6.9 per cent for FY23 and 6.6 per cent for FY24. This is despite the latest Global Economic Prospects report, released on Saturday, portraying a gloomy picture for entire world economy

About the Report

The World Bank produces the GEP twice a year, in January and June, as part of its in-depth analysis of key global macroeconomic developments and their impact on member countries.
The GEP provides intelligence in support of achieving development goals and is a trusted resource for member countries, stakeholders, civil organizations and researchers.

3. Microsoft to invest in Open AI: A closer look at the company behind ChatGPT and Dall-E

Subject: Science and Technology

Context:

Microsoft is reportedly in talks to invest $10 billion into AI research powerhouse OpenAI, which could bring its valuation to $29 billion.

Details:

Recently OpenAI has launched its AI chatbot capable of producing human-like answers to user queries named ChatGPT.

OpenAI:

OpenAI is an artificial intelligence (AI) research laboratory consisting of the for-profit corporation OpenAI LP and its parent company, the non-profit OpenAI Inc.
The company conducts research in the field of AI with the stated goal of promoting and developing friendly AI in a way that benefits humanity as a whole.
The organization was founded in San Francisco in late 2015 by Sam Altman, Elon Musk,and others.
OpenAI is headquartered at the Pioneer Building in Mission District, San Francisco.
The company is no longer a non-profit and Elon Musk moved on from the company in 2018 to avoid a potential conflict of interest with Tesla.

ChatGPT:

OpenAI has created ChatGPT, an AI chatbot capable of producing human-like answers to user queries.
- It is based on the company’s GPT 3.5 series of language learning models (LLM).
- GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 and this is a kind of computer language model that relies on deep learning techniques to produce human-like text based on inputs.
ChatGPT can answer follow-up questions, and can also admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests.
Currently, it is open in beta to all users.
ChatGPT has been trained to decline ‘inappropriate’ requests, presumably those which are ‘illegal’ in nature.
ChatGPT is capable of writing fiction but not at the level of humans.
Other chatbots include Google-led LaMDA.

4. What is a cold wave and why northwest India is shivering

Subject: Geography

Context:

In Delhi, the Safdarjung weather station has recorded cold wave conditions for five consecutive days so far this month, making it the longest such spell in a decade.

Details:

The lowest minimum temperature recorded this month was 1.9 degrees Celsius on January 8, the second-lowest minimum temperature in January in 15 years.
Fog and low cloud coverage brought severe cold day conditions to the region when temperatures remained below normal over parts of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

What is a cold wave?

The IMD marks a cold wave in terms of minimum temperatures – when the minimum temperat5ure in the plains is 4 degrees or less or when the minimum temperature is less than 10 degrees and 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below the normal.

Major factors:

Large-scale fog cover:
- Preventing sunlight from reaching the surface and affecting the radiation balance.
- Light winds and high moisture near the land surface have been contributing to the formation of a blanket of fog over large swathes of the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Western disturbances:
- Western disturbances, which are storms from the Mediterranean region, are associated with a change in wind direction, bringing easterly winds to northwest India.
- Cold north-westerly winds have also been contributing to low temperatures.

5. Prithvi- ll tactical ballistic missile test successfully

Subject : Science and Technology

Context:

India successfully carried out a test launch of tactical ballistic missile Prithvi-II from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the Odisha coast.
The missile struck its target with high accuracy.
The user training launch successfully validated all operational and technical parameters of the missile.

Sort-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM) Prithvi- II:

Developed by: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).
It is deployed by India’s Strategic Forces Command.

Key features:

Indigenously developed Surface-to-Surface Missile Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM)

Prithvi-II is an indigenously developed Surface-to-Surface Missile Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM) and has a range of around 250 km to 350 km.
It can carry a one-tonne payload.

High degree of precision:

Prithvi- II has a proven system and is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometres with a high degree of precision.

Integral part of India’s nuclear deterrence:

Prithvi-II has a well-established system and is an integral part of India’s nuclear deterrence.

Lighter in weight:

The tested Agni-5 ballistic missile is lighter in weight than the previous missile.

Variants of Prithvi Missile:

The Prithvi missile project encompassed developing three variants for use by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.
The initial project framework of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program outlines the variants in the following manner:

Prithvi I (SS-150) – Army version (150 km (93 mi) range with a payload of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb))
Prithvi II (SS-250) – Air Force version (350 km (220 mi) range with a payload of 500t kg (1,100 lb))
Prithvi III (SS-350) – Naval version (350 km (220 mi) range with a payload of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb))

Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP):

The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was conceived by Dr A.P.J. Abdul kalam and was launched in 1982-83 by the Indian Government which saw the projects of

Prithvi (Short range surface to surface missile)
Trishul (short-range surface-to-air missile)
Aakash (Medium range surface to air missile)
Nag (Third generation anti-tank missile)
Agni-I (Agni missile was later separated from the IGMDP due to its strategic importance)

6. Delhi is still the most polluted city 3 from Bihar placed in top 10

Subject : Environment

Context:

Delhi continued to be the top polluted city in the country in 2022.

More in the news:

Delhi has an annual average of PM 2.5 concentration 99.7 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) of air, much above the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standard of 40 ug/m3 of air, an analysis of CPCB air quality data by the NCAP (National Clean Air Programme) tracker has shown.
The analysis has however revealed that PM 2.5 levels in the city have shown a 7% improvement from 108 ug/m3 in 2019.
Some of the top polluted non-attainment cities in 2019 have marginally improved their PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels but continue to breach CPCB’s standards.

National Clean Air Programme (NCAP):

It was launched by the MoEFCC in January 2019 as a long-term, time-bound, national level strategy that features:
- Making determined efforts to deal with the air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner.
- Achieving 20% to 30% reduction target in Particulate Matter concentrationsby 2024 where 2017 is kept as the base year for the comparison of concentration.
Identification of 122 non-attainment cities (presently 131 non-attainment cities) across the country based on the 2014-2018 Air Quality data.
- Non- Attainment Cities are the cities which do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Preparation of the city-specificc action plans including measures to strengthen the monitoring network, reduce vehicular/industrial emissions, increase public awareness etc.
Implementation of the city specific action plans to be regularly monitored by Committees at Central and State level namely Steering Committee, Monitoring Committee and Implementation Committee.
Facilitating collaborative, multi-scale and cross-sectoral coordination between the relevant central ministries, state governments and local bodies.
Establishing the right mix with the existing policies and programmes which include the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and other government initiatives related to climate change.
Constant change, activity and progress to get evolved based on the additional scientific and technical information as they emerge.
Increasing the number of monitoring stations in the country including rural monitoring stations, technology support.
Emphasis on awareness and capacity-building initiatives.
Setting up of certification agencies for monitoring equipment, source apportionment studies, emphasis on enforcement, specific sectoral interventions etc.
The NCAP tracker is a joint project of the Carbon Copy portal and Maharashtra-based Respirer Living Sciences.
Objective:
- To augment and evolve effective and proficient ambient air quality monitoring networks across the country.
- To have efficient data dissemination and public outreach mechanisms for timely measures for prevention and mitigation of air pollution.
- To have a feasible management plan for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.

7. Why does Delhi remain the most polluted city?

Subject :Geography

Geographical reasons:

Location of Delhi: It lies to the northeast of the Thar Desert, to the northwest of the central plains and to the southwest of the Himalayas. As winds arrive from the coasts, bringing with them pollutants picked up along the way, they get ‘trapped’ right before the Himalayas.
Cold temperature during winter: During summer hotter air rises higher above the surface and takes the pollutants along with it. However, during October-November, the air is not that hot. The pollutants are trapped and tend to get concentrated at lower levels of the atmosphere, resulting in the smoke and haze situation.
Lack of wind esp. after the end of the monsoon: Average wind speed in winter in the Delhi NCR region is one-third of the summer months. This makes the pollutant concentration in the region.
Dust Storm: -According to SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research), 40% of the particulate pollution in Delhi on those specific days could be sourced to a “multi-day dust storm” that originated in the Middle East.

Anthropogenic factors:

Stubble burning: The root cause of stubble burning can be traced back to the 1960s-70s when India introduced several measures as part of its Green Revolution to feed its rising population.
Governmental policy: In an attempt to address the growing water crisis, the Punjab and Haryana governments introduced laws, which delayed Kharif cropping and thus worsened the pollution due to stubble burning.
Manufacturing activity, Power Generation, Construction, and Transport: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) have declared vehicular emission as a major contributor to Delhi’s increasing air pollution.
Minimum Citizen participation: Unlike in other parts of the world, there is little citizens’ movement for controlling pollution.
Poor Regulations: Regulation is most often seen as imposing bans, not hand-holding and persuading industry – most of them small factories – into adopting environment-friendly measures
India has not recognised in policy and law that air pollution is a killer.

8. Micro-seismic observatories being set up at joshimath: says union minister

Subject : Geography

Context:

Union Earth Sciences Minister Dr Jitendra Singh Tuesday said the ministry will set up numerous micro-seismic observation systems at Joshimath, to study and gather data on whether the area had been suffering from small earthquakes and tremors.

What is a microseismic event?

Microseismic science grew out of earthquake seismology and focuses on micro-earthquakes (i.e. magnitude less than zero).
Large-scale earthquakes are caused when energy is released as a result of rock failure along a fault. In contrast, microseismic events are caused when human activities such as mining or oil and gas production change the stress distribution or the volume of a rock mass.
When the rock attempts to redistribute the stress within the rock mass, it will suddenly slip or shear along pre-existing zones of weakness such as along faults or fracture networks.
These micro-earthquakes are too small to be felt on the surface, but they can be detected by sensitive equipment such as geophones and accelerometers.

What are micro-seismic observation systems?

Microseismic monitoring is the passive observation of very small-scale earthquakes which occur in the ground as a result of human activities or industrial processes such as mining, hydraulic fracturing, enhanced oil recovery, geothermal operations or underground gas storage.
Microseismic monitoring is a passive method, meaning that it listens for seismic energy which is already occurring underground.
Passive seismicity is also commonly referred to as “induced seismicity.”
Passive methods provide a continuous 4D record of seismicity in the monitoring region, rather than individual snapshots in time obtained by conventional 3D seismic methods.
Microseismic results are often delivered in real-time, and can literally offer a video recording of what is happening deep underground as a result of industrial operations.

What can microseismic monitoring tell us?

Basic microseismic monitoring aims to answer three fundamental questions about microseismic events:

When did the microseismic event occur?
Where did the microseismic event occur?
How big was the microseismic event?

Traditional microseismic mapping determines the location and magnitude of the event. When microseismicity is observed over time, operators may start to see patterns of seismicity related to production activities.
Advanced microseismic analysis performed by ESG can reveal more detailed information about the microseismicity of the area and how the rock is responding to mining or oil and gas production activities, leading to increased efficiency and optimized operations.
This small failure results in the release of energy in the form of seismic waves and is known as a microseismic event.

9. The Tokhü Emong Bird Count (TEBC)

Subject : Environment

Context: The Tokhü Emong Bird Count (TEBC) event took place over four days from November 4 to 7, 2022, and involved 18 e-birders from four districts of Nagaland – Dimapur, Kohima, Peren, and Wokh

Concept:

The Tokhü Emong Bird Count (TEBC) is a citizen science initiative with an aim to celebrate the birds of the state of Nagaland.
The event has been hailed as Nagaland’s first bird documentation event by Bird Count India, a bird monitoring and documentation collective and one of the organising groups.
Other organisers include the Wokha Forest Division and the Divisional Management Unit, Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP).
The TEBC was the brainchild of Lansothung Lotha, a district forest ranger with the Nagaland Forest Department and an avid conservationist. participants were primarily students invited from schools.
The aim was to help nurture a love for birding and conservation amongst young participants.

Bird records in Nagaland:

Blyth’s tragopan, rufous-necked hornbill, Mrs. Hume’s pheasant, Naga wren babbler and Austen’s brown hornbill.
There are three other species of hornbills in the state: the oriental pied hornbill, the wreathed hornbill, and the great hornbill.
Some notable birds that were sighted include the brown shrike, black-tailed crake, blue-napped pitta, brown bush warbler, spot-breasted scimitar babbler, brown-capped laughingthrush, eye-browed laughingthrush and the flagship species, Amur falcon.

Events for Bird of count across the nation:

The organisers took the example of bird count events in other states conducted during festivals, such as the Onam Bird Count (Kerala), the Pongal Bird Count (Tamil Nadu) and the Bihu Bird Count (Assam).
Accordingly, the Tokhü Emong Bird Count event took place during one of the festivals of the Lotha Nagas, the Tokhu Emong festival. Tokhu Emong is celebrated post-harvest, in the first week of November.
The term ‘Tokhu Emong’ means to rest from field work for feasting after harvest season. Notably, during this festival, villagers are restricted from hunting, fishing, trading, or travelling.

Threats to Birds in Nagaland:

Hornbills require mature trees for nesting. Their absence in an environment signifies that there are no more mature trees in the area from which they can nest.
The Global Forest Watch reported that from 2000 to 2020, Nagaland experienced a net change of -130 square km (-0.85%) in tree cover.
The major contributing factors to wildlife and biodiversity loss in the state include jhum cultivation, hunting, felling and logging of trees, and more recently, developmental activities like road construction and widening, and monoculture, amongst others.

Conservation initiatives in recent years:

The Khonoma Green Village initiative, Sendenyu Village Community Biodiversity Conservation, and the Tizu Valley Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihood Network.
In Nagaland community ownership of the land covers the bulk of the area, such local initiatives would ensure local support for conservation
The village headmen were powerful and have a say on every major issue.
This system of land ownership means that the people will be the most well-versed in the biodiversity around them and are thus the best stewards for conservation.

10. A new method of deposition of Nickel alloy coatings

Subject :Science and Technology

Concept:

A new method of deposition of Nickel alloy coatings on high-performance materials in engineering applications can replace environmentally toxic chrome coatings.
The coatings obtained are also highly corrosion-resistant and useful for the plastic ware industry.
With ever-increasing demand for high-performance materials in engineering applications, nano-crystalline coatings can cater to the need for the replacement of environmental hazardous chrome coatings.
Chrome coatings have been used in plastic bottling industry to improve the service life of die-casting components. However, chrome plating is a toxic process, and the stringent standard permissible exposure limit (PEL) for toxic hexavalent chromium and all its compounds has to be complied in all chrome plating industrial workplaces. Finding a procedure for adhering to this limit is a challenge for scientists.
The pulsed current effect was used for nano-crystalline coatings wherein high instantaneous current density for very small duration resulted in high rate of nucleation.
Unlike in conventional direct current plating, the coatings were virtually porosity free, crack free with minimal hydrogen uptake. The use of pulsed current resulted in the nano-crystallization of nickel tungsten alloy coatings with high hardness (700-1200 HV) and wear resistance. The coatings were extremely corrosion resistance and could withstand up to 700 hrs of salt spray.
The coatings developed at ARCI can withstand temperatures up to 500°C without thermal softening and can improve the life of die components by at least two times than conventional chrome plating.
They were successfully applied to die-casting components used in plastic bottling industry, wherein the temperatures at the die interface can be over 280°C. With numerous applications in automotive, defense, and aerospace for these coatings, the process know-how is ready for transfer as a replacement for conventional chrome plating.

Impact of Chromium pollution

Severely impacting our environment and natural resources, especially water and soil. Excessive exposure could lead to higher levels of accumulation in human and animal tissues, leading to toxic and detrimental health effects like chromium skin exposure include dermatitis, hypersensitivity reactions, eczema, and kidney or liver damage.
Several studies have shown that chromium is a toxic element that negatively affects plant metabolic activities, hampering crop growth and yield and reducing vegetable and grain quality, decrease of seed germination, reduction of growth, decrease of yield, inhibition of enzyme, It can alter genetic materials and cause cancer.

11. Delegated Legislation

Subject : Polity

In upholding the Centre’s 2016 decision on demonetisation, one of the key questions to decide for the Supreme Court was whether Parliament gave excessive powers to the Centre under the law to demonetise currency.
While the majority ruling upheld the validity of the delegated legislation, the dissenting verdict noted that excessive delegation of power is arbitrary.

About Delegated legislation:

When an entity or individual other than parliament creates a law, it is said to have “delegated legislation,” meaning that parliament has authorised the law’s creation.
The authority is established in a parent act of parliament called a “enabling act,” which establishes the framework of the legislation and then delegate’s powers to others to make more comprehensive law in the field.
An Act of Parliament establishes the framework for a particular law and typically includes a synopsis of the Act’s rationale.
When Parliament delegates its legislative authority to the Executive or another subordinate body, that body or individuals within it are given the authority to add specifics to the enacted law.
In this way, Parliament grants authority to others to make laws and guidelines through delegated legislation through essential enactment (such as an Act of Parliament). Any law passed by an authorised individual must have one of the justifications listed in the Act of Parliament as its basis.
It can be necessary for legislative power to be delegated for any of the following reasons:
to save pressure on parliamentary time
the legislation is too technical or detailed to be suitable for parliamentary consideration
to deal with rapidly changing or uncertain situations
to allow for swift action in the case of an emergency.

Delegation of power in the demonetisation case

Section 26(2) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 essentially gives powers to the Centre to notify that a particular denomination of currency ceases to be legal tender.
Here, Parliament, which enacted the RBI Act, is essentially delegating the power to alter the nature of legal tender to the central government.
The Centre exercised that power by issuing a gazette notification, which is essentially the legislative basis for the demonetisation exercise.

12. Govt mulling fresh dispute resolution schemes

Subject : Government schemes

Government is currently assessing the possibility of introducing yet another set of one-time tax dispute resolution scheme for both direct and indirect taxes to reduce litigation and unlock funds.
The dea is based on the past success of dispute resolutions schemes which were announced earlier in previous budgets – for indirect tax cases, Sabka Vishwas Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme (SVLDRS) was introduced in 2019 and the revenue collected under the scheme was around Rs 38000 crore.
Similarly, noting the success of SVLDRS, for direct taxes, Vivad se Vishwas Scheme was announced in 2020 and the revenue collected under this scheme was around Rs 54000 crores.

Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme:

The scheme provides for settlement of disputed tax, disputed interest, disputed penalty or disputed fees in relation to an assessment or reassessment order on payment of 100% of the disputed tax and 25% of the disputed penalty or interest or fee.
The Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020 was enacted in March 2020 to settle direct tax disputes locked up in various appellate forums.
As many as 1.25 lakh cases, a quarter of all direct disputes, have opted for Vivad se Vishwas scheme, enabling settlement of Rs. 97,000 crore in tax demands.

Sabka Vishwas Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme

Sabka Vishwas is a legacy dispute resolution scheme notified by Government for closing pending disputes relating to legacy Service Tax and Central Excise cases. It is to be operationalized from 1st September 2019.
The two main components of the Scheme are dispute resolution and amnesty.
The dispute resolution component is aimed at liquidating the legacy cases of Central Excise and Service Tax that are subsumed in GST and are pending in litigation at various forums.
The amnesty component of the Scheme offers an opportunity to the taxpayers to pay the outstanding tax and be free of any other consequences under the law.
The most attractive aspect of the Scheme is that it provides substantial relief in the tax dues for all categories of cases as well as full waiver of interest, fine, penalty.
In all these cases, there would be no other liability of interest, fine or penalty. There is also a complete amnesty from prosecution.
The objective of the Scheme is to free the large number of small taxpayers of their pending disputes with the tax administration.

13. DAC gives nod to purchase indigenous defence systems

Subject: Polity

Recently, DAC gave nod to purchase indigenous defence systems amounting to Rs. 4,276 crore.
These include helicopter-launched Nag missiles and BrahMos cruise missile launchers for ships

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)

The DAC is the highest decision-making body of the defence Ministry on procurement.
The defence minister is the chairman of DAC.
Its members include Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force.
The main objective of the DAC is to ensure expeditious procurement of the approved requirements of the armed forces.
It was formed, after the Group of Ministers recommendations on ‘Reforming the National Security System’, in 2001, post Kargil War (1999).

Functions of DAC includes

Give in principle approval of a 15 years Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) for defence forces.
Accord of acceptance of necessity to acquisition proposals.
Categorisation of the acquisition proposals relating to ‘Buy’, ‘Buy & Make’ and ‘Make’.
Look into issues relating to single vendor clearance.
Take decisions regarding ‘offset’ provisions in respect of acquisition proposals above Rs 300 crore.
Take decisions regarding Transfer of Technology under the ‘Buy & Make’ category of acquisition proposals.

14. Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955

Subject : Polity

Recently, A Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said it will first take up for preliminary determination whether Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 suffers from any “constitutional infirmity”.

Section 6A

Section 6A was a special provision inserted into the 1955 Act in furtherance of a Memorandum of Settlement called the ‘Assam Accord’ signed on August 15, 1985.
It created a special provision for Assam by which persons who entered between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971, and who are residing in the state, upon being detected as foreigners, will be allowed to register
Upon registration, such a person will have the same rights and obligations as a citizen of India, but will not be entitled to be included in any electoral roll for a period of 10 years.
Foreigners who had entered Assam before January 1, 1966, and been “ordinarily resident” in the State, would have all the rights and obligations of Indian citizens including the right to vote.

Assam Accord

The Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India, Assam Government and the leaders of the Assam Movement in New Delhi on 15 August 1985.
Six year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) in 1979 concluded with the signing of the Assam Accord.
In the 15 clauses of the Assam Accord, the key focus areas were:
Foreigners issue
Economic development
Restricting acquisition of immovable property by foreigners
Prevention encroachment of government lands
Registration of births and deaths
This was done to ensure protection of political, social, economic and cultural identity of the local people.
The foreigners were classified under three heads for identification and differential treatment under Clause 5 of the Assam Accord.
“All persons who came to Assam prior to 1.1.1966, including those amongst them whose name appeared on the electoral rolls used in 1967 elections, shall be regularised.
“Foreigners, who came to Assam after 1.1.1966 (inclusive) and upto 24th March, 1971 shall be detected in accordance with the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order 1964 and were to be disenfranchised. This group of people was required to register themselves as foreigners in accordance the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939. The Assam Accord does not call for their deportation but they were to get voting rights only after expiry of 10 years from the date of their detection or declaration as foreigner.
The rest had to be expelled.

15. India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA)

Subject: Polity

With Trade pact becoming a reality, Australian Prime Minister is set to visit India.
This visit is expected to further bilateral ties that received a boost from the implementation of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement.

Ind-Aus Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement

It is the first Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that India has signed with a major developed country in over a decade.
The Agreement encompasses cooperation across the entire gamut of bilateral economic and commercial relations between the two friendly countries, and covers areas like:
Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin
Trade in Services
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures
Dispute Settlement, Movement of Natural Persons
Telecom, Customs Procedures
Pharmaceutical products, and Cooperation in other Areas
ECTA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries.
The ECTA between India and Australia covers almost all the tariff lines dealt in by India and Australia respectively.
India will benefit from preferential market access provided by Australia on 100% of its tariff lines.
This includes all the labour-intensive sectors of export interest to India such as Gems and Jewellery, Textiles, leather, footwear, furniture etc.
On the other hand, India will be offering preferential access to Australia on over 70% of its tariff lines, including lines of export interest to Australia which are primarily raw materials and intermediaries such as coal, mineral ores and wines etc.
Under the agreement, Indian graduates from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) will be granted extended post-study work visas.
Australia will also set up a programme to grant visas to young Indians looking to pursue working holidays in Australia.
Annual Visa quota of 1800 is to be instituted for India Yoga teachers and Chefs.
It is also estimated that 10 lakh jobs will be created as a result of ECTA.

16. Collegium sends out recommendation for appointment to 5 HC

Subject: Polity

Context: The Supreme Court Collegium recommended names for appointment as judges in Bombay, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Guwahati and Manipur High Courts.

Appointment of HC Judges:

Article 217 of the Constitution states that the Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the Governor of the State.
In the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court is consulted.

Consultation Process:

High Court judges are recommended by a Collegium comprising the CJI and two senior-most judges.
The proposal, however, is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned in consultation with two senior-most colleagues.
The recommendation is sent to the Chief Minister, who advises the Governor to send the proposal to the Union Law Minister.
The Chief Justice of the High Court is appointed as per the policy of having Chief Justices from outside the respective States.
The Collegium takes the call on the elevation.

Collegium System:

It is the system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the SC, and not by an Act of Parliament or by a provision of the Constitution.

Evolution of the System:

First Judges Case (1981):
- It declared that the “primacy” of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) recommendation on judicial appointments and transfers can be refused for “cogent reasons.”
- The ruling gave the Executive primacy over the Judiciary in judicial appointments for the next 12 years.
Second Judges Case (1993):
- SC introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”.
- It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges in the SC.
Third Judges Case (1998):
- SC on President’s reference expanded the Collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues (for example for the transfer of HC judges).