Daily Prelims Notes 16 January 2021

January 16, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes 16 January 2021

By

Santosh Sir

All 6 Prelims qualified

4 CSE Mains qualified

If I can do it, you can too

Table Of Contents

1. Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)

Subject: Economy

Context: TRP controversy with some news channel using unfair means to raise TRP by having access to exclusive TRP data.

Concept:

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.

2. Nihang Sikhs

Subject: Art and culture

Context: Amidst the farmers announcement of tractor parade on republic day Nihang Sikhs rehearse with 50 horsemen.

Concept:

Nihang or ‘Akali’ Sikhs are community of armed Sikh warriors in Indian subcontinent.
Many trace Nihang Sikhs from Fateh Singh and others from “Akali Dal” formed by Sikh Guru Hargovind.
Traditionally known for their bravery and ruthlessness in the battlefield, the Nihang once formed the irregular guerrilla s quads of the armed forces of the Sikh Empire, the Sikh Khalsa Army.
They wear a traditional dress called “Khalsa Swarupa”. This comprises full attire of super electric blue selected by Guru Gobind Singh, edged bracelets of iron round their wrists (jangi kara) and quoits of steel (chakram) tiered in their high conical blue turbans, together with the traditional dagger carried by all Sikhs (kirpan).
This is accompanied with swords.

About Guru Hargovind and Fateh Singh:

Guru Hargovind was the 6^th Guru (at age of 11) after his father Guru Arjan (5^th Guru) was killed by Jahangir.
He initiated the process of militarization which was complete during Guru Govind Singh’s time.
He wore two sword (Nihangs follow it today) to symbolize concepts of “miri and piri” (temporal power and spiritual authority).
He constructed the “Akal Takht” (the throne of timeless one) in front of Harmandir Saheb as the highest seat of earthly authority of the Khalsa (the collective body of the Sikhs) today.
Fateh Singh is the fourth and youngest son of Guru Gobind Singh. among the most revered martyrs in Sikhism. He is also known as Baba Fateh Singh.

3. National Policy on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM)

Subject: Environment

Context: Himachal submitted its action plan earlier this month to the Central Monitoring Committee (CMC), which is overseeing compliance to a set of merged National Green Tribunal orders to make sewage 100 per cent treated by March 2021.

Concept:

It was issued by Ministry of Urban Development in 2017.
It seeks to facilitate nationwide implementation of FSSM services in all ULBs and to set priorities, and direction for safe and sustainable sanitation in every household in India.

Features of the FSSM:

It provides for state-level guidelines, framework, objectives, timelines and implementation plans to address septage management.
Formulating strategy to initiate capacity-building for training on FSSM.
A sanitation benchmark framework to be used by ULBs to develop a database and registry of certified onsite sanitation system and a reporting ecosystem.
Ensure funding for FSSM projects and with promotion of public private partnerships (PPP).
Achieving integrated citywide sanitation along with safe disposal.

Gaps and issues in urban sanitation:

Access: Due to households having financial issues and space crunch for constructing individual toilets, apart from some cultural and social barrier.
Septage collection and conveyance: Illegal Manual scavenging, No / Limited access to tanks, Inappropriate tank sizing & design, Lack of infrastructure, and a regulated schedule for cleaning, Lack of formal private players are issues in this.
Treatment and Disposal: lack of adequate centralized/ decentralized facilities and designated sites for sewage and for septage treatment and disposal is a major burden.
Poor Awareness: Faecal Sludge and septage management has been accorded low priority and there is poor awareness
Fragmented Institutional Roles and Responsibilities: Lack of an Integrated City-wide Approach: Faecal Sludge and septage management investments are currently planned in a piece-meal manner and do not take into account the full cycle of safe confinement, treatment and safe disposal
Limited Technology Choices: Technologies have been focussed and the disposal techniques are not environmentally friendly no cost-effective
Gender Sensitive Gap: The burden of poor sanitation (compounded by the lack of FSSM services) disproportionately affects women, especially the urban poor, because this falls along established fault-lines of malnutrition and family health caregiving. Ex- The Economic Survey Report (2016- 17) of the Finance Ministry indicates the adverse impact of lack of sustainable sanitation on health of women and impedes in cognitive development of girls and infants.

4. Earthquake

Subject: Geography

Context: A magnitude 6.2 quake hit the Indonesia and killed at least 35.

Concept:

An earthquake is shaking or trembling of the earth’s surface, caused by the seismic waves or earthquake waves that are generated due to a sudden movement (sudden release of energy) in the earth’s crust (shallow-focus earthquakes) or upper mantle (some shallow-focus and all intermediate and deep-focus earthquakes).
The point where the energy is released is called the focus or the hypocentre of an earthquake.
The point on the surface directly above the focus is called epicentre (first surface point to experience the earthquake waves).
A line connecting all points on the surface where the intensity is the same is called an isoseismic line.

Causes:

Fault Zones
Plate tectonics
Volcanic activity
Human Induced Earthquakes

Waves:

There are several different kinds of seismic waves, and they all move in different ways. The two main types of waves are body waves and surface waves.
Body waves can travel through the earth’s inner layers, but surface waves can only move along the surface of the planet like ripples on water
The first kind of body wave is the P wave or primary wave. This is the fastest kind of seismic wave, and, consequently, the first to ‘arrive’ at a seismic station. The P wave can move through solid rock and fluids,like water or the liquid layers of the earth. It pushes and pulls the rock it moves through just like sound waves push and pull the air.
The second type of body wave is the S wave or secondary wave, which is the second wave felt in an earthquake. An S wave is slower than a P wave and can only move through solid rock, not through any liquid medium. It is this property of S waves that led seismologists to conclude that the Earth’s outer core is a liquid.
S waves move rock particles up and down, or side-to-side–perpendicular to the direction that the wave is traveling in (the direction of wave propagation)

Distribution of Earthquakes

Measuring earthquake: Mercallivs Richter

The Mercalli scale bases its measurement on the observed effects of the earthquake and describes its intensity. It is a linear measurement.
On the other hand, the Richter scale measures the seismic waves, or the energy released, causing the earthquake and describes the quake’s magnitude. It is a logarithmic

Faults:

A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to move relative to each other.
This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake – or may occur slowly, in the form of creep.
Faults may range in length from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers.
Most faults produce repeated displacements over geologic time. During an earthquake, the rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips with respect to the other.
The fault surface can be horizontal or vertical or some arbitrary angle in between.
Earth scientists use the angle of the fault with respect to the surface(known as the dip) and the direction of slip along the fault to classify faults.
Faults which move along the direction of the dip plane are dip-slip faults and described as either normal or reverse (thrust), depending on their motion.
Faults which move horizontally are known as strike-slip faults and are classified as either right-lateral or left-lateral.
Faults which show both dip-slip and strike-slip motion are known as oblique-slip faults.

5. Open Sky Treaty (OST)

Subject: International treaty

Context: After USA, Russia also has withdrawn from the Open Sky Treaty.

Concept:

This withdrawal is among the rising trend of USA withdrawing from major international pacts reducing relevance of pacts and other countries following suit, thus weakening the multilateralism.
USA accused Russia of non-compliance with OST protocols, blaming Moscow of obstructing surveillance flights on its territory, while misusing its own missions for gathering key tactical data and withdraw from OST.

About Open Sky Treaty:

It is 34-member treaty (key Arms control framework) allowing participants to fly unarmed reconnaissance flights over any part of their fellow member states.
It was proposed way back in 1955 during the rising tensions in cold war. But it could be signed only post fall of Soviet Union in 1992.
Currently it has 35 signatories (before USA withdrawal) along with one non-ratifying member (Kyrgyzstan).
It aims at mutual openness to reduce the chances of accidental war.
Under this a member state can “spy” on any part of the host nation, with the latter’s consent.
A country can undertake aerial imaging over the host state after giving notice 72 hours before, and sharing its exact flight path 24 hours before.
The information gathered under such operations such as on troop movements, military exercises and missile deployments, has to be shared with all member states.

6. Houbara Bustard

Subject: Environment

Context: Members of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) royal family arrived in Pakistan’s Balochistan to hunt the internationally protected and highly vulnerable houbara bustard under a license issued by Pakistan’s foreign ministry

Concept:

It is a large terrestrial bird found in parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The North African houbara (Chlamydotis undulata) and the Asian houbara (Chlamydotis macqueenii) are two separate species of Houbara bustard.
It migrates in flock to the Indian subcontinent to spend winter in Pakistan, the Arabian Peninsula and nearby Southwest Asia after it breeds in Central Asia during spring in original habitat.
It is very similar to the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (native to India).
IUCN categorised it as
Poaching, unregulated hunting and the degradation of its natural habitat has been major causes for decline in population of Houbara bustard.
Wealthy dignitaries from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries arrive in the country to hunt the birds every year using hunting gear and falcons. They kill the bird for sport and also because its meat is supposed to have aphrodisiac qualities
Pakistan has been hosting wealthy dignitaries for last few decades. But, the Supreme Court imposed a ban on hunting the houbara bustard in 2015.

7. PMKVY 3.0

Subject: Welfare Schemes

Context: PMKVY 3.0 was launched to build on learning from PMKVY 1.0 and PMKVY 2.0 to align skill framework to aspirational India’s demand.

Concept:

It was launched in 717 districts across all states of India by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
It aims at unlock the vision of making India the ‘Skill Capital’ of the world (over 300 skills available).
It will also focus on demand-driven and decentralised in its approach, with focus on digital technology and Industry 4.0 skills.
Its focus is on new age skills and Covid-19 related skills. It is a trainee- and learner-centric approach addressing the ambitions of aspirational Bharat.
It focuses on training of eight lakh candidates over a scheme period of 2020-2021 with an outlay of Rs. 948.90 crore.
It will be implemented by the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK), emapneled non-PMKK centres and ITI
District Skill Committees (DSCs), under the guidance of State Skill Development Missions (SSDM), shall play a key role in addressing the skill gap and assessing demand at the district level.
It will incentivise states by healthy competition between states by making available increased allocation to those states that perform better.

8. COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system

Subject: Government policies

Context: IT minister launched Grand Challenge for strengthening the COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system.

Concept:

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced the launching of “CoWIN”.
Grand challenge aims at strengthening the COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system.
It will be launched on the MSH (MeitY Startup Hub) portal.
It calls for participation from talented and innovative startups and emerging technology specialists to augment and scale the CoWIN platform.
It focuses on 7areas for technology development:

1. Infrastructure
2. Monitoring
3. Management
4. Dynamic learning and information systems
5. Constraints of human resources-including technical capacities
6. Vaccine logistics management
7. Tracking enlisted beneficiaries for any adverse event following immunization on real time basis.

The challenge will need registration and finally five participants will be provided CoWIN APIs (Application Programming Interface) to prove the efficacy of their solutions for possible integration with the platform with prize of Rs 2 lakh for winners.

About CoWIN platform:

CoWIN is a national platform for digital ecosystem to be used to effectively roll out and scale up the mechanism for COVID Vaccine Distribution System.
It was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to help agencies keep a track of Covid-19 vaccination programme and allow Indian citizens to apply for a Covid-19 vaccine shot.
As part of platform the government developed CoWIN-20 app for real-time monitoring of covid-19 vaccine. It will integrate with real-time data from cold storage facilities with integration from eVIN (Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network)

9. Rabi sowing headed for record this year

Subject: Agriculture

Context: Agriculture Ministry released data on acreage with record sowing for Rabi crops like wheat, gram and mustard.

Concept:

According to data released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday, rabi crops have so far been planted over nearly 652 lakh hectares (lha), nearly two per cent more than around 642 lha covered in the corresponding week last year.
Country is heading for a record high with wheat, gram and mustard already surpassing the best acreage in the past.
Good rainfall in September and October and high premium commanded by wheat from region in Central Peninsular India (MP and Maharashtra) ked to diversion from chickpea to wheat.
This fall in acreage of Gram was offset by increased acreage of Gram in Maharashtra and Gujrat. This led to pulses acreage highest at 162 lha (2% rise).
Even Oilseeds saw acreage growth. In spite of it falling under Oilseed Mission target of 80 lakh hectares, it was at record high at 73 lha.
Boost in mustard sowing was due to:

1. FSSAI’s timely decision to not allow blending of other oils in mustard oil.
2. Mustard fetching higher price in market than MSP.
3. Constant focus of Oilseeds Mission.

About Rabi crops:

Concept:

Rabi crops or Rabi harvest are agricultural crops sown in winter and harvested in the spring in the South Asia.
The term is derived from the Arabic word for “spring”, which is used in the Indian subcontinent, where it is the spring harvest (also known as the “winter crop”).
The rabi crops are sown around mid-November, after the monsoon rains are over, and harvesting begins in April/May.
The crops are grown either with rainwater that has percolated into the ground, or with irrigation.

Some important Rabi Crops are:

Barley
Gram
Rapeseed
Mustard
Oat
Wheat

About FSSAI

The FSSAI is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
It has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India.
It is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
It is headed by a non-executive Chairperson, appointed by the Central Government, either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.