Daily Prelims Notes 15 June 2021

June 15, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

15 June 2021

Table Of Contents

1. Significance of Tulu Language in India

Subject : Culture

Context : Recently, various organisations initiated a Twitter campaign demanding official language status to Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala and received an overwhelming response.

Concept :

About Tulu Language

Tulu is a Dravidian language.
It is spoken mainly in two coastal districts Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala.
As per the 2011 Census report, there are 18,46,427 Tulu-speaking people in India.
It has a rich oral literature tradition with folk-song forms like paddana, and traditional folk theatre yakshagana.
It has an active tradition of cinema with around 5 to 7 Tulu language movies produced a year.

Present status of Tulu language

According to Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy president Dayananda G Kathalsar, people who speak Tulu are confined to the above-mentioned regions of Karnataka and Kerala.
They are informally known as Tulu Nadu.
Tulu is not an official language in the country.
If included in the eighth schedule, Tulu would get recognition from the Sahitya Akademi.

2. Government report flgs ‘lapses ‘ in Nagaland bat study

Subject : Science & tech

Context : More than a year after a probe into a filovirus study of bats in Nagaland by the Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the government has concluded that there had been “concerning lapses” in the conduct.

Concept :

About NCBS

National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, Karnataka, is a research centre specialising in biological research.
It is a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India.
The mandate of NCBS is basic and interdisciplinary research in the frontier areas of biology.
The research interests of the faculty are in four broad areas ranging from the study of single molecules to systems biology.
NCBS focuses on fundamental research from diverse fields of biology including Biochemistry, Biophysics, Bioinformatics, Neurobiology, Cellular Organization and Signalling, Genetics and Development, Theory and Modelling of Biological Systems, Ecology and Evolution etc.

Filovirus

Filoviruses belong to a virus family called Filoviridae.
Filovirus is a filamentous RNA virus of a genus which causes severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates.
3 genera of this virus family have been identified: Cuevavirus, Marburgvirus and Ebolavirus.

3. Retail Inflation breaches RBI Comfort Zone

Subject : Economics

Context : Recently, the Wholesale Price Index-based inflation scaled to a record high of 12.94 per cent in May which translated into a higher retail inflation of 6.30 per cent.

Concept :

Retail Inflation

The change in the consumer price index over a period of time is referred to as CPI-based inflation, or retail inflation.
The CPI is an index measuring retail inflation in the economy by collecting the change in prices of most common goods and services used by consumers.
The CPI is calculated for a fixed list of items including food, housing, apparel, transportation, electronics, medical care, education, etc.
The CPI specifically identifies periods of deflation or inflation for consumers in their day-to-day living expenses.
The CPI is used as a:

Macroeconomic indicator of inflation;

Tool by the central bank and government for inflation targeting and for inspecting price stability; and

Deflator in the national accounts.

Consumer Price Index in India

In India, there are four consumer price index numbers, which are calculated, and these are as follows:

CPI for Industrial Workers (IW)

CPI for Agricultural Labourers (AL)

CPI for Rural Labourers (RL) and

CPI for Urban Non-Manual Employees (UNME)

The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation collects CPI (UNME) data and compiles it but the remaining three are collected by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour.

Reasons for Retail Inflation breaching comfort zone of RBI

The wholesale inflation has been rising for five months, and is expected to rise further as the impact of high crude prices and surging commodity prices feeds in.
It would cause the retail inflation to rise as well, putting the central bank on a tightrope walk in balancing the growth-inflation dynamics.
The food inflation component for retail inflation rose significantly higher to 5.01 per cent in May from 1.96 per cent in the preceding month.
The items that pushed retail inflation were fuel which recorded an inflation of 11.6 per cent, transport and communication at 12.6 per cent, edible oil at 30.8 per and pulses at 9.3 per cent.
The high rate of inflation in May 2021 is primarily due to low base effect and rise in prices of crude petroleum, mineral oils viz. petrol, diesel, naphtha, furnace oil etc. and manufactured products.
The continued rise in global crude oil prices, a weaker rupee and the upward revision in domestic fuel prices remain risk factors for the upcoming WPI print.

4. One dose enough for those infected with Covid

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Single-dose of Covishield vaccine elicits a stronger immunity in individuals recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with those having no prior exposure, indicated a study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Concept :

All the seropositive or seronegative participants developed neutralizing antibodies by day 28 after the first dose of Covishield.
The previously infected group mounted greater antibody response to a single dose of Covishield vaccine compared with the no prior exposure group.
These results suggest protective immune memory in previously exposed individuals after a single dose of vaccine.
Such individuals could mount memory recall response on a subsequent encounter with antigen as they have developed adaptive immune memory.

Immunological memory

Immunological memory is the ability of the immune system to respond more rapidly and effectively to pathogens that have been encountered previously, and reflects the preexistence of a clonally expanded population of antigen-specific lymphocytes.
Memory responses, which are called secondary, tertiary, and so on, depending on the number of exposures to antigen, also differ qualitatively from primary responses.
This is particularly clear in the case of the antibody response, where the characteristics of antibodies produced in secondary and subsequent responses are distinct from those produced in the primary response to the same antigen.
Memory T-cell responses have been harder to study, but can also be distinguished from the responses of naive or effector T cells.
The principal focus of this section will be the altered character of memory responses, although we will also discuss emerging explanations of how immunological memory persists after exposure to antigen.
A long-standing debate about whether specific memory is maintained by distinct populations of long-lived memory cells that can persist without residual antigen, or by lymphocytes that are under perpetual stimulation by residual antigen, appears to have been settled in favor of the former hypothesis.

5. Two Indians selected to CEPI scientific advisory committee

Subject: Science & tech

Context: Immunologist Dr Vineeta Bal and Bharat Biotech Executive Director Dr Krishna Mohan have been selected to the scientific advisory committee at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

Concept:

Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness for Innovation (CEPI)

The CEPI is a foundation that takes donations to finance independent research projects to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases (EID).
It is focused on the WHO’s “blueprint priority diseases.
These diseases include the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the SARS coronavirus 2 the Nipah virus, the Lassa fever virus, and the Rift Valley fever virus, as well as the Chikungunya virus and the hypothetical, unknown pathogen “Disease X”.
CEPI investment also requires “equitable access” to the vaccines during outbreaks.
CEPI was conceived in 2015 and formally launched in 2017 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

6. India on track to achieve national commitment of land degradation neutrality: PM

Subject : Environment

Context : “We are on track to achieve our national commitment of land degradation neutrality. We are also working towards restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030,” he said during his virtual keynote address at the High-Level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Concept :

Land Degradation Neutrality

Land degradation neutrality (LDN) is a condition where further land degradation (loss of productivity caused by environmental or human factors) is prevented and already degraded land can be restored.

LDN has been defined by the Parties to the Convention as:

– A state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.

Benefits of LDN

As land is fixed in quantity, there is ever-increasing competition to control land resources and capitalize on the flows of goods and services from the land.
LDN represents a paradigm shift in land management policies and practices.
It is a unique approach that counterbalances the expected loss of productive land with the recovery of degraded areas.
This has the potential to cause social and political instability, fueling poverty, conflict and migration.

About UNCCD:

Established in 1994.
It is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
It is the only convention stemming from a direct recommendation of the Rio Conference’s Agenda 21.
To help publicise the Convention, 2006 was declared “International Year of Deserts and Desertification”.
The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.
Aim : Its 197 Parties aim, through partnerships, to implement the Convention and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The end goal is to protect land from over-use and drought, so it can continue to provide food, water and energy.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal Ministry for this Convention.

7. Appoint Loksabha Deputy Speaker: Congress to Om Birla

Subject: Polity

Context: The post of Deputy Speaker has been lying vacant since the constitution of the 17th Lok Sabha in 2019. Congress leaders argued that the post of Deputy Speaker has not remained vacant for such a long time in the recent past.

Concept:

About Deputy Speaker:

Article 93 of the Constitution provides for the election of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.
The constitutional office of the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is more symbolic of parliamentary democracy than some real authority.
There is no need to resign from their original party though as a Deputy Speaker, they have to remain impartial.

Roles and functions:

They act as the presiding officer in case of leave or absence caused by death or illness of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Election:

Usually, the Deputy Speaker is elected in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the General elections from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha.
It is by convention that position of Deputy Speaker is offered to opposition party in India.

Tenure and removal:

They hold office until either they cease to be a member of the Lok Sabha or they resign.
They can be removed from office by a resolution passed in the Lok Sabha by an effective majority of its members.

8. SPACE TOURISM

Subject: Science & tech

Context: Last week, Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos’s space company called Blue Origin concluded the online auction for the first seat on New Shephard, a rocket system meant to take tourists to space. The seat went for a winning bid of $28 million.

Concept:

Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism.
To date, orbital space tourism has been performed only by Roscosmos.[2] Work also continues towards developing suborbital space tourism vehicles. This is being done by aerospace companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.
In addition, SpaceX (an aerospace manufacturer) announced in 2018 that they are planning on sending space tourists, including Yusaku Maezawa, on a free-return trajectory around the Moon on the Starship.

9. PYROSTRIA LALJII

Subject: Environment

Context: A 15-metre-tall tree that belongs to the genus of the coffee family has recently been discovered from the Andaman Islands.

Concept:

The new species, Pyrostria laljii was first reported from the Wandoor forest in South Andaman.
The other places in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands where the tree could be located are the Tirur forest near the Jarawa Rerserve Forest and the Chidia Tapu (Munda Pahar) forest.
The new species is also the first record of the genus Pyrostria in India. Plants belonging to genus Pyrostria are usually found in Madagascar.
Features: The tree is distinguished by a long stem with a whitish coating on the trunk and oblong-obovate leaves with a cuneate base.
Other physical features that distinguish the tree from other species of the genus is its umbellate inflorescence with eight to 12 flowers.
Pyrostria laljii has been assessed as ‘Critically Endangered’ based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List criteria.
The species has been named Pyrostria laljii after Lal Ji Singh, Joint Director and Head of Office, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Botanical Survey of India.

10. RARE EARTH ELEMENTS

Subject: Science & tech

Context: The U.S. Senate passed a law aimed at boosting American production and processing of rare earths. In 2019, the U.S. imported 80% of its rare earth minerals from China, the U.S. Geological Survey says.

Concept:

These are a set of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table, specifically the 15 lanthanides plus scandium (Atomic Number 21) and Yttrium (Atomic Number 39).
Lanthanide series comprises the 15 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, from lanthanum through lutetium.
Scandium and yttrium are considered rare-earth elements because they tend to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibit similar chemical properties, but have different electronic and magnetic properties.
Cerium (AN 58) is the most abundant rare earth metal.

Why these elements called as RARE?

There is no shortage of rare earths. But their extraction is difficult (Requires high skill, Capital intensive, Environmental issues).
2 main ore of extractions are Monazite and Bastansite.
Their colour ranges from Shiny Silver to Iron Gray. They are soft, malleable, ductile and usually reactive, especially at elevated temperatures or when finely divided.
Its application ranges from Civilian (smartphones, laptops, petroleum refining catalysts) to military including nuclear applications. Rare minerals that are essential to electric vehicles, wind turbines and drones.
China has the largest reserve (37 percent), followed by Brazil and Vietnam (18 percent each), Russia (15 percent), and the remaining countries (12 percent). Deng Xiaoping said once, The Middle East has oil and China has rare earth.

11. Global nuclear warhead stockpile appears to be growing, SIPRI warns

Subject: International Organizations

Context: The overall number of nuclear warheads in global military stockpiles appears to be increasing this year, a new finding released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday reveals.

Concept:

The nine nuclear-armed states – the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) – together possessed an estimated 13 080 nuclear weapons at the start of 2021.
This marked a decrease from the 13 400 that SIPRI estimated these states possessed at the beginning of 2020,” SIPRI said.
However, SIPRI research shows that this declining trend appears to have stalled.

About SIPRI

SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public.
Based in Stockholm, SIPRI is regularly ranked among the most respected think tanks worldwide.
The Statutes are the guiding principles of SIPRI’s work. They were adopted by the Swedish Government.
SIPRI was established on the basis of a decision by the Swedish Parliament and receives a substantial part of its funding in the form of an annual grant from the Swedish Government.
The Institute also seeks financial support from other organizations in order to carry out its research.

12. At NATO meet – Biden vows to defend Europe

Subject: International Relations

Context: U.S. President Joe Biden told fellow NATO leaders on Monday the defence of Europe, Turkey and Canada was a “sacred obligation” for the United States, a marked shift from his predecessor Donald Trump’s threats to withdraw from the military alliance.

Concept:

North Atlantic Treaty Organization:

It is an intergovernmental military alliance.
Established by Washington treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
Headquarters — Brussels, Belgium.
Headquarters of Allied Command Operations — Mons, Belgium.

Significance:

It constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.

Composition:

Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 30. The most recent member state to be added to NATO was North Macedonia on 27 March 2020.
NATO membership is open to “any other European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.”

Objectives:

Political – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
Military – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations.
These are carried out under the collective defence clause of NATO’s founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.

13. Novavax announces efficacy of about 90% for its vaccine

Subject : Science & tech

Context: U.S. vaccine manufacturer Novavax said its COVID-19 vaccine had shown an overall efficacy of 90.4% in trials in the U.S. and Mexico, potentially adding — in a few months — another vaccine to the world’s arsenal against the disease, which has killed close to 4 million people. Trials have already occurred in the U.K. and South Africa.

Concept:

NVX-CoV2373 is a vaccine candidate engineered from the genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease.
It was created using Novavax’ recombinant nanoparticle technology to generate antigen derived from the coronavirus spike (S) protein and contains Novavax’ patented saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response and stimulate high levels of neutralizing antibodies
Novavax was awarded $1.6 billion by the US government as part of Operation Warp Speed (OWS), a program to deliver millions of doses of a safe, effective vaccine for Covid-19 to the US population.
The announcement of Novavax’s efficacy is significant in the fight against covid for India, where the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, will be making 1 billion doses of the shot for domestic supply and export under its brand Covovax.

14. MoS Jal Shakti Urges All MPs To Participate And Support Jal Shakti Abhiyan-2

Subject : Governance

Context : Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Rattan Lal Kataria has written personal letters to all MPs, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, to support the ongoing “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain” campaign in their respective constituencies and states.

Concept :

The Abhiyan with the theme- “Catch the Rain where it falls, when it falls’ was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the occasion of world water day – March 22, 2021.
The campaign aims at tapping rainwater by constructing artificial recharge structures, revitalizing existing ponds and water bodies, creating new water bodies, provisioning check dams, rejuvenating wetlands and rivers before the onset of monsoon.
It is also planned to create a data-base of all water bodies in the country by geo tagging them and using this data to create scientific and data-based district level water conservation plans.
Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain campaign covers all rural and urban areas of all districts of the country, unlike the Jal Shakti Abhiyan-1 of 2019, which covered only 1592 water stressed blocks out of 2836 blocks in 256 districts of the country.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan 1

The Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in 2019.
It is a campaign for water conservation and water security in the country through a collaborative effort of various ministries of the Government of India and state governments.
The focus of the campaign is on water stressed districts and blocks.