Daily Prelims Notes 13 January 2022

January 13, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

13 January 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Reserve Bank-Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2021 (RB-IOS)

Subject – Economy

Context – Volume of complaints under Ombudsman Schemes up’

Concept –

The volume of complaints received under the Ombudsman Schemes has gone up by 22.27 per cent on an annualised basis to stand at 3,03,107 as at March-end 2021, according to the Annual Report of Ombudsman Schemes, 2020-21.
Till November 11, 2021, there were three Ombudsman Schemes: Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS), 2006 Ombudsman Scheme for NBFCs (OSNBFC), 2018 Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions (OSDT), 2019.
With effect from November 12, 2021, a Reserve Bank-Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2021 (RB-IOS), adopting a “One Nation – One Ombudsman” approach for all customers of RBI regulated entities was launched.

About the Scheme

The Scheme integrates the existing three Ombudsman schemes of RBI namely,
- (i) the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006;
- (ii) the Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies, 2018; and
- (iii) the Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019.
The Scheme, framed by the Reserve Bank in exercise of the powers conferred on it under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949), Section 45L of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934), and Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (51 of 2007), will provide cost-free redress of customer complaints involving deficiency in services rendered by entities regulated by RBI, if not resolved to the satisfaction of the customers or not replied within a period of 30 days by the regulated entity.
In addition to integrating the three existing schemes, the Scheme also includes under its ambit Non-Scheduled Primary Co-operative Banks with a deposit size of ₹50 crore and above.
The Scheme adopts ‘One Nation One Ombudsman’ approach by making the RBI Ombudsman mechanism jurisdiction neutral.
Some of the salient features of the Scheme are:
- It will no longer be necessary for a complainant to identify under which scheme he/she should file complaint with the Ombudsman.
- The Scheme defines ‘deficiency in service’ as the ground for filing a complaint, with a specified list of exclusions. Therefore, the complaints would no longer be rejected simply on account of “not covered under the grounds listed in the scheme”.
- The Scheme has done away with the jurisdiction of each ombudsman office.
- A Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre has been set up at RBI, Chandigarh for receipt and initial processing of physical and email complaints in any language.
- The responsibility of representing the Regulated Entity and furnishing information in respect of complaints filed by customers against the Regulated Entity would be that of the Principal Nodal Officer in the rank of a General Manager in a Public Sector Bank or equivalent.
- The Regulated Entity will not have the right to appeal in cases where an Award is issued by the ombudsman against it for not furnishing satisfactory and timely information/documents.
The Executive Director-in charge of Consumer Education and Protection Department of RBI would be the Appellate Authority under the Scheme.
Complaints can continue to be filed online on https://cms.rbi.org.in. Complaints can also be filed through the dedicated e-mail or sent in physical mode to the ‘Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre’ set up at Chandigarh in the format.
Additionally, a Contact Centre with a toll-free number – 14448 (9:30 am to 5:15 pm) – is also being operationalised in Hindi, English and in eight regional languages to begin with and will be expanded to cover other Indian languages in due course.
- The Contact Centre will provide information/clarifications regarding the alternate grievance redress mechanism of RBI and to guide complainants in filing of a complaint.

2. Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC India)

Subject – Governance

Context – BARC told to release news TRP ratings immediately

Concept –

BARC was established as an autonomous ‘not for profit’ body duly registered under the Companies Act, 2013.
Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India is a Joint Industry Company founded by stakeholder bodies that represent Broadcasters, Advertisers, and Advertising and Media Agencies.
It is built upon a robust and future-ready technology backbone, BARC India owns and manages a transparent, accurate, and inclusive TV audience measurement system.
Apart from the currency products to the TV industry, BARC India also provides a suite of Insight products designed for Broadcasters, Advertisers and Agencies. The Big Data and Insights generated by BARC India powers efficient media spends and content decisions in a highly dynamic and growing television sector.
It is a company created in 2010 and jointly owned by advertisers, ad agencies, and broadcasting companies, represented by the Indian Society of Advertisers, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation and the Advertising Agencies Association of India.
- Whereas Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has 60% stake holding, Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) both have 20%-20% stake holding.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting notified the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India on January 10, 2014, and registered BARC in July 2015 under these guidelines, to carry out television ratings in India.
It is the world’s largest television measurement science industry body.

Television Rating Point (TRP)

The Television Rating Point (TRP) is the metric used by the marketing and advertising agencies to evaluate viewership.
These influence programmes produced for the viewers. Better ratings would promote a programme while poor ratings will discourage a programme.
TRPs are the main currency for advertisers to decide which channel to advertise on by calculating the cost-per-rating-point (CPRP).

3. Overhaul of Commodity Boards

Subject – Economy

Context – Centre moves to overhaul commodity boards

Concept –

In what could completely overhaul the current structure governing cash crops such as tea, coffee, rubber and spices, the Union government has come out with draft Bills that propose to recast bodies such as the Tea Board of India and the Coffee Board and turn them into entities for branding and promotion of respective commodities.
The draft proposals, which have been placed in public domain for comments from stakeholders, seek to reconstitute the functions of the boards governing these commodities so as to enable them to act as facilitators for optimising the development and promotion of the industry.
The proposed draft envisages deleting archaic provisions and introducing new objectives/ functions/powers so that the board scan act as the facilitator for optimising the development, promotion and research in the industry.

To know about Tea and Tea Board of India, please refer October 2021 DPN.

To know about Coffee and Coffee Board of India, please refer September 2021 DPN.

4. Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

Subject – Economy

Context – IIP drops to 1.4% in Nov;

Concept –

To know about IIP, please refer September 2021 DPN.

5. Retail Inflation

Subject – Economy

Context – Dec retail inflation at five-month high 5.59%

Concept –

To know about Retail inflation, please refer December 2021 DPN.

6. Human Development Report 2020

Subject – Governance

Context – The 2020 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), titled “The Next Frontier – Human Development and the Anthropocene” proposed a planetary pressure-adjusted Human Development Index (HDI).

Concept –

India ranked 131 among 189 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) for 2019, slipping two places from the previous year, according to the Human Development Report (HDR) 2020 released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The 2020 Report has introduced planetary pressures-adjusted Human Development Index, which adjusts the standard Human Development Index (HDI) by a country’s per capita carbon dioxide emissions and material footprint.
The other indices that form the part of the Report are:
- Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI),
- Gender Development Index (GDI),
- Gender Inequality Index (GII) and
- Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

Human Development Index

Based on three Basic Dimensions of Human Development:
- A long and healthy life,
- Access to knowledge, and
- A decent standard of living.
Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland and Switzerland. Hong Kong and Iceland complete the top five.
In the BRICS grouping, Russia was 52 in the human development index, Brazil 84, and China 85.

Gender Development Index

The GDI measures gender gaps in human development achievements by accounting for disparities between women and men in three basic dimensions of human development—health, knowledge and living standards using the same component indicators as in the HDI. The GDI is the ratio of the HDIs calculated separately for females and males using the same methodology as in the HDI. It is a direct measure of gender gap showing the female HDI as a percentage of the male HDI. For more details on computation see Technical Notes.

The GDI is calculated for 167 countries. Countries are grouped into five groups based on the absolute deviation from gender parity in HDI values. This means that grouping takes equally into consideration gender gaps favoring males, as well as those favoring females.

The GDI shows how much women are lagging behind their male counterparts and how much women need to catch up within each dimension of human development. It is useful for understanding the real gender gap in human development achievements and is informative to design policy tools to close the gap

Gender Inequality Index

Gender inequality remains a major barrier to human development. Girls and women have made major strides since 1990, but they have not yet gained gender equity. The disadvantages facing women and girls are a major source of inequality. All too often, women and girls are discriminated against in health, education, political representation, labour market, etc.—with negative consequences for development of their capabilities and their freedom of choice.

The GII is an inequality index. It measures gender inequalities in three important aspects of human development—reproductive health, measured by maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates; empowerment, measured by proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females and proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and older with at least some secondary education; and economic status, expressed as labour market participation and measured by labour force participation rate of female and male populations aged 15 years and older. The GII is built on the same framework as the IHDI—to better expose differences in the distribution of achievements between women and men. It measures the human development costs of gender inequality. Thus the higher the GII value the more disparities between females and males and the more loss to human development.

The GII sheds new light on the position of women in 162 countries; it yields insights in gender gaps in major areas of human development. The component indicators highlight areas in need of critical policy intervention and it stimulates proactive thinking and public policy to overcome systematic disadvantages of women.

Multidimensional Poverty Index

The Multidimensional Poverty Index has been used by the United Nations Development Programme in its flagship Human Development Report since 2010. It is the most widely employed non-monetary poverty index in the world
In the global MPI, people are counted as multidimensionally poor if they are deprived in one-third or more of 10 indicators (see figure), where each indicator is equally weighted within its dimension, so the health and education indicators are weighted 1/6 each, and the standard of living indicators are weighted 1/18 each.

7. Mauryan Empire

Subject – History

Context – JDU seeks action against BJP leader who likened Ashok to Aurangzeb

Concept –

Ashoka

Many historians consider Ashoka as one of the greatest kings of the ancient world.
His policy of Dhamma has been a topic of lively discussion among scholars. The word ‘Dhamma’ is the Prakrit form of the Sanskrit word ‘Dharma’.
Dhamma has been variously translated as piety, moral life, righteousness and so on, but the best way to understand what Ashoka means by Dhamma is to read his edicts.
The edicts were written primarily to explain to the people throughout the empire the principles of Dhamma.
Dhamma was not any particular religious faith or practice; so, we should not translate Dhamma (or its Sanskrit equivalent Dharma) as religion.
The principles of Dhamma were so formulated as to be acceptable to people belonging to different communities and followers of any religious sect.
Dhamma was not given any formal definition or structure.
It emphasised on toleration and general behaviour. Dhamma stressed on dual toleration; it emphasised on toleration of people themselves and also toleration of their various beliefs and ideas. There is a stress on the notion of showing consideration towards slaves and servants; there is stress also on obedience to elders; generosity towards the needy, brahmanas and sramanas, etc.
Ashoka also pleaded for tolerance of different religious sects in an attempt to create a sense of harmony.
The policy of Dhamma also laid stress on non-violence. Non-violence was to be practised by giving up war and conquests and also as a restraint on the killing of animals. However, Ashoka realized that a certain display of his political might may be necessary to keep the primitive forest tribes in check.
The policy of Dhamma also included certain welfare measures like planting of trees, digging of wells, etc. Ashoka attacked ceremonies and sacrifices practised regularly on various occasions as meaningless.
A group of officers known as the Dhamma-mahamattas were instituted to implement and publicize the various aspects of Dhamma. Ashoka thrust a very heavy responsibility on them to carry his message to the various sections of the society. However, they seem gradually to have developed into a type of priesthood of Dhamma with great powers and soon began to interfere in politics as well.
Rock Edict XIII is of paramount importance in understanding the policy of Dhamma because it is a testament against war. It graphically depicts the tragedy of war and shows why Ashoka turned against it. It is a unique event in the annals of the ancient world because we do not know of any other contemporary monarch who renounced war. Ashoka embarked on the policy of Dhamma after this war.

Examples of Mauryan Art

The most important examples of Mauryan art include:

1) Remains of the royal palace and the city of Pataliputra

2) A monolithic railing at Sarnath

3) The excavated chaitya halls or cave dwellings in the Barabar-Nagarjuni group of hills in Gaya.

4) The non-edict bearing and edict bearing pillars with their capitals.

5) The front half of an elephant carved in round from a live rock in Dhauli in Odisha.

Pataliputra

Pataliputra, the Mauryan capital bears the stamp of Imperial art. According to Megasthenes, the city of Pataliputra was about fifteen kilometers long, two and a half kilometres in width, and was surrounded by a moat that measured about two hundred meters wide and fifteen meters deep. The ramparts of the city had sixty-four gates and some five hundred and seventy towers. Excavations have unearthed a small portion of the ancient city as most of it is occupied by modern habitation. In addition, most of the structures were probably made of wood and brick which did not survive the floods and vagaries of time.

Edits and Pillars

Mauryan pillars are free standing, tall, well proportionate, with tapering shafts and monolithic in nature. They are made of sandstone which was quarried at Chunar. The pillars have a lustrous polish. They do not have a base. The capital is joined to the tapering end of the shaft with a cylindrical bolt. The capital is in the shape of inverted lotus (often referred to as the bell capital). On top of it is an abacus (platform) which finally supports an animal carved in round. The columns that carry Ashokan inscriptions are those of DelhiMirat, Allahabad, Lauriya-Araraj, Lauriya-Nandangarh, Rampurva (with lion capital), Delhi-Topara, Sankisya, Sanchi and Sarnath. The non-edict bearing columns include those of Rampurva (with a bull capital), BasarhBakhira (with a single lion capital), and Kosam. Columns bearing dedicatory inscriptions have been found at Rummendei and Nigali Sagar. Of these, the capitals of Lauriya-Nandangarh and Basarh-Bakhira are in situ.

As far as the crowned animals are concerned, the LauriyaNandangarh and Basarh-Bakhira, and one of the Rampurva pillars has a surmounted lion seated on its hunches; the Sankisya pillar supports a standing elephant; the second Ramapurva pillar, a standing bull; Sarnath and Sanchi columns, four lions sitting back to back. The Lauriya-Araraj column may have had a Garuda capital. Except for the horse, the other symbols are very much present in early Brahmanical imagery

Mauryan columns	Achaemenid columns
Monolithic	Made up of number of pieces
Independent freestanding	Part of some larger architectural scheme
Smooth	Fluted
Bell shape at the top	Bell shape at the bottom
Without support base	With support base

Monolithic Railing at Sarnath

A polished fragment of a monolithic railing at Sarnath is assigned to the Mauryan period. It is made of polished Chunar sand stone. It compares well with the Bharhut railing. It is copied from wooden contemporary originals. The plinth or the ‘alambana’, the uprights or the ‘stambhas’, the horizontal bars or the ‘suchis’ and the coping stone or the ‘ushnisha’ have all been carved from a single monolithic stone

Dhauli Elephant

At Dhauli (Bhubaneshwara, Odisha), there is a rock sculpture of the front part of an elephant. It has a heavy trunk which curls gracefully inwards. His right front leg is slightly tilted and the left one slightly bent, suggesting forward movement. Its naturalistic stance, powerful portrayal in stone is very impressive and gives the feeling that the elephant is walking out of the rock.

Rock Cut Caves

The Mauryan period saw the beginning of rock cut architecture. The caves are located in the Nagarjuni and Barabar hills to the north of Bodhgaya. Three caves in Barabar hills have dedicatory inscriptions of Ashoka and three in the Nagarjuni hills have inscriptions of his successor Dasaratha. The exteriors of the caves are very plain. However, the interiors are polished to a high degree. The earliest of these caves is Sudama cave which contains an inscription dated to the 12th regnal year of Ashoka and is dedicated to the Ajivika sect.

8. Kala Azar

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Kala azar death in Jharkhand; state says cause comorbidities

Concept –

Kala-azar or visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a tropical disease characterised by irregular fever, weight loss, anaemia and swelling of the spleen and liver.
It is caused by a protozoan Leishmania parasite and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected female sandflies. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), globally, about 7 to 10 lakh new cases occur annually.

Three types of leishmaniasis:

Visceral leishmaniasis, which affects multiple organs and is the most serious form of the disease.
- Visceral leishmaniasis, which is commonly known as Kala-azar in India, is fatal in over 95% of the cases, if left untreated.
Cutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin sores and is the most common form.
Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin and mucosal lesions.

Resistance to Drug:

The only drug available against leishmaniasis, miltefosine, is rapidly losing its effectiveness because of emerging resistance to this drug due to a decrease in its accumulation inside the parasite.
A protein called ‘P4ATPase-CDC50’, is responsible for intake of the drug by the parasite, and another protein, called ‘P-glycoprotein’, is responsible for throwing this drug out from within the parasite’s body.
A decrease in the activity of the former protein, and an increase in the activity of the latter results in less accumulation of miltefosine inside the parasite’s body, thus causing it to become resistant to the drug.

9. NEAT initiative

Subject – Governance

Context – a government scheme that helps bridge technical gap

Concept –

Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has announced a new National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) to use technology for better learning outcomes in Higher Education.
National Education Alliance for Technology (NEAT) a Public-Private Partnership model between the Government and the Education Technology companies of India.
Implementing agency– AICTE
NEAT is an initiative for providing the use of best-developed technological solutions in education sector for enhancing the employability of youth on a single platform for the convenience of learners.
These solutions make use of artificial intelligence for a customised and personalised experience for better learning outcomes and skill development across niche areas.
Currently, 58 global and Indian start-up ed-tech companies are onboard NEAT. They are offering 100 courses and e-resources for a better learning outcome, for developing employable skills as well as overcoming learning loss.
MHRD would act as a facilitator to ensure that the Adaptive Learning Solutions are freely available to a large number of economically backward students.
NEAT is aimed at taking the concept of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) platform a step ahead.

10. Kathak

Subject – Art and Culture

Context – Kathak dancer Pandit Munna Shukla dies at 78

Concept –

It is one of the classical dances of India.
The word Kathak has been derived from the word Katha which means a story. It is primarily performed in Northern India.
It was primarily a temple or village performance wherein the dancers narrated stories from ancient scriptures.
Usually a solo performance, the dancer often pauses to recite verses followed by their execution through movement.
The focus is more on footwork; the movements are skillfully controlled and performed straight legged by dancers wearing ankle-bells.
Kathak is the only form of classical dance wedded to Hindustani or the North Indian music.
Some prominent dancers include Birju Maharaj, Sitara Devi.

Other Classical dances –

1) Bharatnatyam, Tamil Nadu

Bharatanatyam, also known as the mother of all other classical dance styles, is considered as the oldest dance forms in the country India that originated from the temple dancers in Tamil Nadu.
The dance is a pure amalgam of expressions, music, beat and rhythm.

2) Kathakali, Kerala

This one is probably one of the most attractive, dramatic and elaborate forms of classical Indian dance.
Kathakali originated in the south Indian state of Kerala, also known as God’s Own Country during the 17th century.
The artist performing the dance needs to have detailed make-up, wear heavy costumes and, most importantly, work on their gestures.

3) Kuchipudi, Andhra Pradesh

Kuchipudi is considered one of the toughest forms of Indian classical dance that originated in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
The form is considered the toughest because it requires a whole lot of rituals, from lighting the incense sticks to sprinkling holy water and praying to the lord.

4) Manipuri, Manipur

Manipuri dance form originated in the northeastern state of Manipur and is a pure spiritual experience.
This is a theme based classical dance form that depicts Raaslila or the romantic act of the Hindu gods Radha and Krishna. Costumes and makeup plays an important role here.

5) Odissi, Odisha

Odissi dance form emerged from the east Indian state of Odisha and is mainly derived from the ancient Hindu temples in Odisha.
The whole dance is based on gestures and movements or mudras. The dance is performed to express the mythical stories of the Hindu gods, such as Lord Shiva and Surya. It is also considered as the oldest surviving dance forms of India.

6) Sattriya Dance, Assam

The Sattriya Dance of Assam is living tradition of state and one of the eight major classical Indian dance traditions.
Sattriya classical dance form is well appreciated and practiced outside the state as well as outside of Indian mainland.

7) Mohiniyattam,Kerala

Mohiniyattam is another classical dance style from Kerala state and one of the eight principal Indian classical dance.
The Mohiniyattam is a popular dance form with a drama in dance, performed with subtle gestures and footwork.

11. Appointment of Election Commissioners

Subject – Polity

Context – Reports of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and his Election Commissioner colleagues ‘attending’ an ‘informal’ meeting with the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, late last year, has brought renewed focus on the independence and the impartiality of the Election Commission of India (ECI)

Concept –

There is no prescribed procedure for appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners as per the constitution.
Under the Transaction of Business rules, the President shall appoint the CEC and EC based on the recommendations made by the Prime Minister. Therefore, it is the executive power of the President to appoint CEC and ECs.
However, according to Article 324(5), the Parliament has the power to regulate the terms of conditions of service and tenure of ECs.

To know more about ECI, please refer December 2021 DPN.

12. The Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL)

Subject – IR

Concept –

The Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) divides current positions of Indian and Pakistani military posts and troops across the entire 110 kilometres (68 mi) long front line in the disputed region of Siachen Glacier.
AGPL generally runs along the Saltoro Mountains range, beginning from the northernmost point of the (LOC) at Point NJ 9842 and ending in the north on the Indira Ridge at the India-China-Pakistan LAC tripoint near Sia Kangri about 4 km northwest of Indira Col West.
India gained control of 1,000 square miles of disputed territory in 1984 because of its military operations in Siachen. A cease-fire was announced in 2003.