Daily Prelims Notes 11 November 2020
- November 11, 2020
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Table Of Contents
- PEACE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
- INTER STATE MIGRANT WORKMEN(REGULATION OF EMPLOYMENT & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE) ACT, 1979
- SCO SUMMIT
- SPECIAL WINDOW FOR BORROWING
- RECOUNTING OF VOTES
- m-RNA VACCINE
- SAFAR
1. PEACE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
Subject : International Relations
Context : Russia brokered a new peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the two countries that have been in a military conflict for over six weeks over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus.
Concept :
- As per the new peace deal, both sides will now maintain positions in the areas that they currently hold, which will mean a significant gain for Azerbaijan as it has reclaimed over 15-20 per cent of its lost territory during the recent conflict, the AFP reported.
- Further, under this agreement, all military operations are suspended, Russian peacekeepers will be deployed along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor that connects the region to Armenia.
- Straddling western Asia and Eastern Europe, Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but most of the region is controlled by Armenian separatists.
Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO)
- Russia’s role in the conflict has been somewhat opaque since it supplies arms to both countries and is in a military alliance with Armenia called the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).
- CSTO is an intergovernmental military alliance that was signed on 15 May 1992.
- In 1992, six post-Soviet states belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States signed the Collective Security Treaty (also referred to as the “Tashkent Pact” or “Tashkent Treaty”).
- Its 6 members are: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
- Headquarters: Moscow, Russia.
2. INTER STATE MIGRANT WORKMEN(REGULATION OF EMPLOYMENT & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE) ACT, 1979
Subject : Legislations
Concept :
- The Act seeks to regulate the employment of inter-State migrants and their conditions of service.
- It envisages a system of registration of such establishments.
- The principal employer is prohibited from employing inter-State workmen without a certificate of registration from the relevant authority.
- The law also lays down that every contractor who recruits workmen from one State for deployment in another State should obtain a licence to do so.
- Contractors are bound by certain conditions. These include committing them to providing terms and conditions of the agreement or any other arrangement on the basis of which they recruit workers.
Applicability of the law:
- It is applicable to every establishment that employs five or more migrant workmen from other States; or if it had employed five or more such workmen on any day in the preceding 12 months.
- It is also applicable to contractors who employed a similar number of inter-State workmen.
- The Act would apply regardless of whether the five or more workmen were in addition to others employed in the establishment or by the contractors.
Beneficial provisions for inter-State migrants:
- Registration of establishments employing inter-State workers creates a system of accountability and acts as the first layer of formalising the utilisation of their labour.
- It helps the government keep track of the number of workers employed and provides a legal basis for regulating their conditions of service.
- The wage rates, holidays, hours of work and other conditions of service of an inter-State migrant workman shall be the same as those extended to other workmen in the same establishment, if the nature of their work is similar.
Attempts to reform:
- As part of the present regime’s efforts towards consolidating and reforming labour law, a Bill has been introduced in Parliament called the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2019. The proposed code seeks to merge 13 labour laws into a single piece of legislation. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, is one of them.
Concerns and criticisms surrounding the new code:
- Activists fear that specific safeguards given to migrant workers may be lost as a result of the consolidation in the new code.
- The attempt to consolidate laws relating to occupational safety, health and working conditions means that many separate laws concerning various kinds of workers and labourers will have to be repealed.
- Regarding inter-State migrant workers, the Act includes them in the definition of ‘contract labour’.
- At the same time, an inter-State migrant worker is also separately defined as a person recruited either by an employer or a contractor for an establishment situated in another State.
3. SCO SUMMIT
Subject : International Relations
Context : PM Narendra Modi highlighted during the 20th SCO Summit that India believes that to enhance connectivity it is important that we move forward while respecting one another’s sovereignty and territorial integrity..
Concept :
- SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.
- It’s a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aiming to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.
- It was created in 2001.The SCO Charter was signed in 2002, and entered into force in 2003.
- It is a statutory document which outlines the organisation’s goals and principles, as well as its structure and core activities.
- The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.
Genesis
- Prior to the creation of SCO in 2001, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five.
- Shanghai Five (1996) emerged from a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks which the four former Soviet republics held with China to ensure stability along the borders.
- Following the accession of Uzbekistan to the organisation in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.
- India and Pakistan became members in 2017.
Membership
- Kazakhstan ,China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
Objectives
- Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states.
- Promoting effective cooperation in -politics, trade & economy, research & technology and culture.
- Enhancing ties in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, etc.
- Maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.
- Establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political & economic order.
Guiding Principle – Based on Shanghai Spirit
- Internal policy based on the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultations, respect for cultural diversity, and a desire for common development.
- External policy in accordance with the principles of non-alignment, non-targeting any third country, and openness.
Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
- Heads of State Council – The supreme SCO body which decides its internal functioning and its interaction with other States & international organisations, and considers international issues.
- Heads of Government Council – Approves the budget, considers and decides upon issues related economic spheres of interaction within SCO.
- Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs – Considers issues related to day-to-day activities.
- Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) – Established to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism.
- SCO Secretariat – Based in Beijing to provide informational, analytical & organisational support.
4. SPECIAL WINDOW FOR BORROWING
Subject : Economy
Context : After Puducherry, Congress-ruled Rajasthan last week became the latest Opposition-ruled state to opt for a special borrowing window for meeting its compensation shortfall under Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Concept :
- The total GST revenue shortfall for the current fiscal was estimated at Rs 3 lakh crore, of which compensation cess collection was estimated at Rs 65,000 crore, leaving a compensation deficit of Rs 2.35 lakh crore
- The Finance Ministry had said last month that the Centre would borrow from the market and then act as an intermediary to arrange back-to-back loans to pay the GST compensation shortfall of Rs 1.1 lakh crore to state governments.
- This arrangement will not reflect in the fiscal deficit of the Centre, and will appear as capital receipts for state governments.
How has the scheme progressed so far?
- Under the special window, the Centre has already borrowed Rs 12,000 crore in two equal instalments and passed it on to 21 states and three Union Territories on October 23 and November 2.
- The second round of borrowing was done at an interest of 4.42%, and the first round at 5.19%, lower than the cost of borrowing for states.
Subject : Polity
Context : Some political parties have demanded recount of votes in the Bihar election
Concept :
- The ultimate round of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) counting doesn’t start unless the counting of postal ballots is over. In case the victory margin is less than the total number of postal ballots received, then a re-verification is done even if no candidate or agent has asked for it.
- On Tuesday, the Commission referred to this instruction when asked about the request from the Left parties for a recount in three seats.
- Apart from this provision, Rule 63 of the Conduct of Election Rules explicitly allows a candidate or his agent to demand a recount of postal ballots or EVM votes before the result is formally declared.
- The application for a partial or complete recount has to be made in writing along with strong reasons for the demand. The Returning Officer considers the grounds provided and may allow the recount in part or whole.
- However, the recheck of EVM votes and recounting of postal ballots can only be done before the formal declaration of results on Form 21C. After that, a candidate’s only recourse is an election petition.
Subject : Science & tech
Context : India’s very own m-RNA (messenger-RNA) vaccine could be ready by March. Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceutical’s novel m-RNA vaccine candidate was approved for funding by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
Concept :
- In RNA vaccines, the messenger RNA from the pathogen is used.
- The mRNA means messenger RNA, which carries the genetic formula for the coding of a specific protein.
- The vaccine, when injected into a person for coding the spike protein, then even without the introduction of an attenuated (recognisable but not harmful) virus into the body, the body learns what the virus looks like and arms itself with the antibodies that are required to act against it.
- The messenger RNA gets translated into antigenic protein recognised by our immune cells and antibodies are produced.
- But mRNA is a highly unstable molecule making it difficult to handle.
- So the mRNA is encapsulated in a small ball of fat or lipid nanoparticle (LNP) which acts as a delivery vehicle that helps the mRNA cross the host cell membrane and once inside the mRNA is released.
- Forty-five subjects in between 18 to 55 years of age of both sexes will be enrolled and divided into three groups and each will receive an intramuscular injection on days 1 and 29.
7. SAFAR
Subject : Environment
Context : The air quality in Delhi continues to remain in ‘severe’ category. The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, SAFAR has advised people to avoid all physical activity outdoors.
Concept :
About:
- Agencies involved: It was indigenously developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune and is run by India Meteorological Department (IMD).
- Objective: To provide Real-time air quality index on 24×7 basis with colour coding along with 72-hour advance weather forecast; To issue Health advisory to prepare citizens well in advance.
Parameters monitored:
- Pollutants: PM1, PM2.5, PM10, Ozone, CO, NOx (NO, NO2), SO2, BC, Methane (CH4), Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), Black Carbon, VOC’s, Benzene and Mercury.
- Meteorological Parameters: UV Radiation, Rainfall, Temperature, Humidity, Wind speed, Wind direction, solar radiation.