Daily Prelims Notes 12 August 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

12 August 2022

Table Of Contents

1. National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM)
2. Shri Aurobindo
3. India slams China for blocking proposal to list JeM deputy chief Asghar a designated terrorist
4. Guillermo Rios is new leader of UNMOGIP
5. HC abolishes Karnataka ACB under state govt, shifts cases to Lokayukta
6. 7.3% Of Indians Owned Digital Currency In 2021, 7th Highest In World, Says UN
7. NASA Studies Find Previously Unknown Loss of Antarctic Ice
8. Banking licence

1. National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM)

Subject: Government schemes

Section: Science and Technology

Context: National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) has achieved target of imparting Intellectual Property (IP) awareness and basic training to 1 million students

Concept:

• NIPAM is a flagship program to impart IP awareness and basic training, was launched on 8 Dec 2021 as a part of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations.
• The program is being implemented by Intellectual Property Office, the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The pan-India ambitious mission aims to provide awareness on intellectual property and its rights to 1 million students.
• It aims to inculcate the spirit of creativity and innovation to students of higher education (classes 8 to 12) and ignite and inspire the students of college/Universities to innovate and protect their creations.

2. Shri Aurobindo

Subject :History

Section: Personality

Context: On the occasions of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Maharshi Aurobindo and the 75th Year of Independence, the Ministry of Culture is commemorating the life and philosophy of Shri Aurobindo by undertaking Spiritual Programmes in 75 prisons across the nation between 12th August and 15th August, 2022

Concept:

• He was an Indian social political and spiritual philosopher, yoga guru, maharishi, poet, revolutionary leader and Indian nationalist ideologue.
• He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as BandeMataram.
• Aurobindo studied for the Indian Civil Service at King’s College, Cambridge, England.
• After returning to India he took up various civil service works under the Maharaja of the Princely state of Baroda and became increasingly involved in nationalist politics in the Indian National Congress and the nascent revolutionary movement in Bengal with the Anushilan Samiti.
• In 1892, he held various administrative posts in Baroda (Vadodara) and Calcutta (Kolkata).
• He was arrested in the aftermath of a number of bombings linked to his organization in a public trial where he faced charges of treason for Alipore Conspiracy.
• During his stay in the jail, he had mystical and spiritual experiences, after which he moved to Pondicherry, leaving politics for spiritual work.
• At Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo developed a spiritual practice he called Integral Yoga. He believed in a spiritual realisation that not only liberated but transformed human nature, enabling a divine life on earth.
• In 1926, with the help of his spiritual collaborator, MirraAlfassa(referred to as “The Mother”), Sri Aurobindo Ashram was founded.
• His main literary works are
• The Life Divine, which deals with the philosophical aspect of Integral Yoga;
• Synthesis of Yoga, which deals with the principles and methods of Integral Yoga;
• Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol, an epic poem.
• Bhagavad Gita and Its Message
• The Future Evolution of Man
• Rebirth and Karma
• Hour of God

3. India slams China for blocking proposal to list JeM deputy chief Asghar a designated terrorist

Subject : International Relations

Context: International Organization

China on Thursday thwarted a joint India-U.S. bid to list Jaish-e-Mohammad deputy chief Rauf Asghar as a UN Security Council designated terrorist by placing a “technical hold” on the process, a move India called “politically motivated” and evidence of China’s “doublespeak” on Pakistan-based terrorism.

Concept :

1267 UN listing

• The 1267 UN listing mandates members to ensure that terrorists and organisations designated must not be allowed to travel, have recourse to funds or weapons.
• However, a UNSC permanent member can place a hold on any listing for a period of up to 6 months, followed by an extension of 6 months, after which it must either accept or deny the listing.
• Expressing India’s frustration with similar decisions by China in the past, U.N. permanent representative Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj had said on Tuesday that “double standards and continuing politicisation” of the process had rendered the credibility of the sanctions regime at an “all-time low.”.

4. Guillermo Rios is new leader of UNMOGIP

Subject :International Relations

Section: International Organization

Context :U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appointed Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rios of Argentina as the Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), the office of the U.N. Secretary General has announced.

United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP)

• UNMOGIP emerged from N. Security Council Resolution 39 of January 1948 that set up the U.N. Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP).
• The Karachi Agreement of July 1949 firmed up the role of UN-level military observers and permitted supervision of the Cease Fire Line established in Jammu and Kashmir.

India’s stance on UNMOGIP

• India has not officially gone to the UNMOGIP since 1972 with complaints against Pakistan.
• India officially maintains that the UNMOGIP’s role was “overtaken” by the Simla Agreement of 1972 that established the Line of Control or the LoC.
• This with minor deviations followed the earlier Ceasefire Line.
• Pakistan, however, did not accept the Indian argument and continued to seek cooperation from the UNMOGIP.
• As a result of these divergent policies, Pakistan continues to lodge complaints with the UNMOGIP against alleged Indian ceasefire violations.

What is Simla Agreement and why was it signed?

• The Simla Agreement was signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on 2 July 1972, following a full-blown war between India and Pakistan in 1971.
• The Simla Agreement was “much more than a peace treaty seeking to reverse the consequences of the 1971 war (i.e. to bring about withdrawals of troops and an exchange of PoWs).” It was a comprehensive blue print for good neighbourly relations between India and Pakistan.
• Under the Simla Agreement both countries undertook to abjure conflict and confrontation which had marred relations in the past, and to work towards the establishment of durable peace, friendship and cooperation.
• The two countries not only agreed to put an end to “conflict and confrontation” but also work for the “promotion of a friendly and harmonious relationship and the establishment of durable peace in the sub-continent, so that both countries may henceforth devote their resources and energies to the pressing talk of advancing the welfare of their peoples.”

5. HC abolishes Karnataka ACB under state govt, shifts cases to Lokayukta

Subject :Polity

Section: Constitutional bodies

Context: The court said it is “high time” the state government strengthened the institution of Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta and got back their “glory”. It observed that the institution of Lokayukta has been reduced to being “paper tigers” by the March 14, 2016 executive order to transfer police powers to ACB.

• The HC stated that “there was no necessity for the State Government to constitute ACB parallel to the institution of Lokayukta, that too when a person to be appointed as Lokayukta shall be a person who has held the office of a Judge of Supreme Court, or that of the Chief Justice of a High Court, or a person who has held the office of a Judge of a High Court for not less than ten years; and a person to be appointed a Upa-Lokayukta shall be a person who has held the office of a Judge of a High Court for not less than five years.”

Concept :

What are Lokpal and Lokayukta?

• The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 provided for the establishment of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for States.
• These institutions are statutory bodies without any constitutional status.
• They perform the function of an “ombudsman” and inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public functionaries and for related matters.

What is the Structure of Lokpal?

• Lokpal is a multi-member body, that consists of one chairperson and a maximum of 8 members.
• Chairperson of the Lokpal should be either the former Chief Justice of India or the former Judge of Supreme Court or an eminent person with impeccable integrity and outstanding ability, having special knowledge and expertise of minimum 25 years in the matters relating to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including insurance and banking, law and management.
• Out of the maximum eight members, half will be judicial members and minimum 50% of the Members will be from SC/ ST/ OBC/ Minorities and women.
• The judicial member of the Lokpal either a former Judge of the Supreme Court or a former Chief Justice of a High Court.
• The non-judicial member should be an eminent person with impeccable integrity and outstanding ability, having special knowledge and expertise of minimum 25 years in the matters relating to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including insurance and banking, law and management.
• The term of office for Lokpal Chairman and Members is 5 years or till the age of 70 years.
• The members are appointed by the president on the recommendation of a Selection Committee.
• The selection committee is composed of the Prime Minister who is the Chairperson, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha,  Chief Justice of India or a Judge nominated by him/her and One eminent jurist.
• For selecting the chairperson and the members, the selection committee constitutes a search panel of at least eight persons.

What comes under the Jurisdiction of Lokpal and its Powers?

• Jurisdiction of Lokpal includes Prime Minister, Ministers, members of Parliament, Groups A, B, C and D officers and officials of Central Government.
• Jurisdiction of the Lokpal included the Prime Minister except on allegations of corruption relating to international relations, security, the public order, atomic energy and space.
• The Lokpal does not have jurisdiction over Ministers and MPs in the matter of anything said in Parliament or a vote given there.
• Its jurisdiction also includes any person who is or has been in charge (director/ manager/ secretary) of anybody/ society set up by central act or any other body financed/ controlled by central government and any other person involved in act of abetting, bribe giving or bribe taking.
• The Lokpal Act mandates that all public officials should furnish the assets and liabilities of themselves as well as their respective dependents.
• It has the powers to superintendence over, and to give direction to CBI.
  • If Lokpal has referred a case to CBI, the investigating officer in such case cannot be transferred without the approval of Lokpal.
• The Inquiry Wing of the Lokpal has been vested with the powers of a civil court.
• Lokpal has powers of confiscation of assets, proceeds, receipts and benefits arisen or procured by means of corruption in special circumstances.
• Lokpal has the power to recommend transfer or suspension of public servant connected with allegation of corruption.
• Lokpal has the power to give directions to prevent the destruction of records during the preliminary inquiry.

What are the Key Provisions of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Act, 2016?

• It amended the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013.
• It also amended section 44 of the 2013 Act that deals with the provision of furnishing of details of assets and liabilities of public servants within 30 days of joining the government service.
• It replaces the time limit of 30 days, now the public servants will make a declaration of their assets and liabilities in the form and manner as prescribed by the government.

How does Lokayukta Work in the States?

• Section 63 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 states: “Every state shall establish a body to be known as the Lokayukta for the State, if not so established, constituted or appointed, by a law made by the State Legislature”.
• It will be created to deal with complaints relating to corruption against certain public functionaries, within a period of one year from the date of commencement of this Act.
  • However, the law is a mere framework, leaving it to the states to decide the specifics.
  • Given that states have autonomy to frame their own laws, the Lokayukta’s powers vary from state to state on various aspects, such as tenure, and need of sanction to prosecute officials.
• When the 2013 Act was passed, Lokayuktas were already functioning in some states – including in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka where they were very active.
  • Following the Act and the intervention of the Supreme Court, most states have now set up a Lokayukta.

6. 7.3% Of Indians Owned Digital Currency In 2021, 7th Highest In World, Says UN

Subject : International Organization

Section: International body

• According to the UN trade and development organization UNCTAD, in 2021, 15 of the top 20 economies in terms of the percentage of the population that owns cryptocurrencies were developing countries.
• The UNCTAD stated that while some people have benefited from these private digital currencies and they have made remittances easier, they are an unstable financial asset that also carries social risks and costs.
• The monetary sovereignty of nations may be at risk if cryptocurrencies take off as a common form of payment and even informally displace national currencies (a process known as cryptoisation).

UNCTAD

• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was established in 1964 to promote development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy.
• UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body headquartered at Geneva in Switzerland.
• Some of the reports published by it are:
  • Trade and Development Report
  • World Investment Report
  • The Least Developed Countries Report
  • Information and Economy Report
  • Technology and Innovation Report
  • Commodities and Development Report

7. NASA Studies Find Previously Unknown Loss of Antarctic Ice

Subject :Environment

Section: Climate Change

Context:

• New research on Antarctica, including the first map of iceberg calving, doubles the previous estimates of loss from ice shelves and details how the continent is changing.
• One study, published in the journal Nature, maps how iceberg calving – the breaking off of ice from a glacier front – has changed the Antarctic coastline over the last 25 years. The researchers found that the edge of the ice sheet has been shedding icebergs faster than the ice can be replaced. This surprise finding doubles previous estimates of ice loss from Antarctic’s floating ice shelves since 1997, from 6 trillion to 12 trillion metric tons. Ice loss from calving has weakened the ice shelves and allowed Antarctic glaciers to flow more rapidly to the ocean, accelerating the rate of global sea level rise.

Iceberg Calving

• “Antarctica is crumbling at its edges,” says JPL scientist Chad Greene, lead author of the calving study. “And when ice shelves dwindle and weaken, the continent’s massive glaciers tend to speed up and increase the rate of global sea level rise.”
• Ice shelves act like buttresses to glaciers, keeping the ice from simply sliding into the ocean. When ice shelves are stable, they have a natural cycle of calving and replenishment that keeps their size fairly constant over the long term.
• But in recent decades, the warming ocean has been destabilizing Antarctica’s ice shelves by melting them from below, making them thinner and weaker. Satellite altimeters measure the thinning process by recording the changing height of the ice, but until this study, there hasn’t been a comprehensive assessment of how climate change might be affecting calving around the continent.

Data used from Satellite Missions

• ICESat1(2003),ICESat2– (short for Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite), launched Sept. 15, 2018, part of NASA’s Earth Observing System, is a satellite mission for measuring ice sheet elevation and sea ice thickness, as well as land topography, vegetation characteristics, and clouds
• Cryosat-2 – European Space Agency Earth Explorer Mission that launched on April 8th 2010.
• Envisat– Envisat is a large inactive Earth-observing satellite which is still in orbit and now considered space debris. Operated by the European Space Agency, it was the world’s largest civilian Earth observation satellite
• ERS – European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS) was the European Space Agency’s first Earth-observing satellite programme using a polar orbit. The ERS programme was composed of two missions, ERS-1 and ERS-2, which were launched into the same orbit in 1991 and 1995 respectively. The two spacecraft were designed as identical twins with one important difference – ERS-2 included an extra instrument (GOME) designed to monitor ozone levels in the atmosphere.

Changes in elevation of the Antarctic ice sheet from 1985 to 2021 are shown. Ice height diminishes (red) as the ice sheet melts by contact with ocean water; it rises (blue) where accumulation exceeds melting. Ice shelves are shown in gray. The missions that supplied data are listed at bottom. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

8. Banking licence

Subject :Economy

Section: Banking

Context: The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the banking licence of Rupee Cooperative Bank, and directed the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to liquidate it.

Why did RBI cancel the licence of Rupee Cooperative Bank?

• The bank does not have adequate capital and earning prospects as per  Section 11(1), Section 22 (3) (d) and Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
  • Section 11 deals with requirements as to minimum paid-up capital and reserves.
  • Section 22  deals with licensing of banking companies.
  • Section 56 is about the applicability of the Act to cooperative societies, subject to modifications
• The bank has failed to comply with certain other provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• The continuance of the bank is prejudicial to the interests of its depositors.
• It  would be unable to pay its present depositors in full given the present financial condition.
• Adverse to the public interest if further allowed to do business.

What will happen to the depositors’ money in Rupee Cooperative Bank?

• Depositors with Rs 5 lakh or less in the bank would get back all of their money through the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).
• Depositors with more than Rs 5 lakh would not get back their money beyond 5 lakh.

What is a banking licence?

• The RBI issues the licence under the Banking Regulation Act of 1949 for banking operations such as accepting deposits or lending .
• Parameters:
  • The 1949 Act focuses on adequate capital and protection of the public interest before the licence is granted.
    • Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) — the ratio of a bank’s available capital to its risk weighted credit exposure.
    • Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) — the ratio of a bank’s total loans to total deposits in the same period.
• No company other than one that has been issued a banking licence is allowed to use the word bank in its name while doing business.
• The RBI audits banks every year, and can take action if it notes an increase in bad debts or other suspicious activities in their books.
  • For example –if a bank does not have enough capital to cover its exposure and pay its depositors, its licence can be cancelled by the RBI.
• Options other than cancellation:
  • All banking activities like withdrawal can be suspended
  • The  board of directors can be superseded
  • Appointment of administrator to revive the bank, including merging the bank with a financially stable bank, filing of criminal cases against defaulting directors, employees, and seizing of their properties.