Daily Prelims Notes 17 April 2021

April 17, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

17 April 2021

Table Of Contents

1. MONSOON PREDICTION MODELS

Subject: Geography

Context : Monsoon to be ‘normal’ in 2021; East and Northeast may get less rain: IMD

Concept :

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday said the 2021 southwest monsoon starting in June is expected to be normal at 98 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA).
A good monsoon will mean another year of bumper farm production and cascading positive impact for the economy battling Covid-19 infections. If the forecast comes true, this will be the third consecutive year of normal or above normal monsoon.
Earlier this week, private weather forecasting agency Skymet had made a similar prediction that the southwest Monsoon would be normal at 103 per cent of the LPA. Rainfall between 96 and 104 per cent of the LPA is considered normal.
Both IMD and Skymet predictions come with a model error of plus and minus 5 per cent.

Dynamical Model:

It is also called the Monsoon Mission Coupled Forecast System. It relies on the supercomputers, mathematically simulating the physics of the ocean and the atmosphere.
This model is better at forecasting the state of the weather a week or two in advance and is not yet considered reliable by meteorologists in forecasting the monsoon.

Statistical Model:

Traditional statistical model equates relationships of physical parameters, such as for instance sea surface temperatures, snowfall, the temperature of landmass etc, with the actual observed rainfall in the past.
For example , it takes into consideration the global weather models pointing to negligible chances of El Nino, a warming of the central equatorial Pacific which is associated with the drying up of monsoon rain. The IMD relies on this model.
In any given year, there is a 33% chance of a normal monsoon that’s why there is high confidence that the monsoon in 2020 would be normal.

Proposed Models

The three models under consideration are:
12 global circulation models (dynamical) whose outputs would be combined into a single one.
Model that gauges rainfall based on the sea surface temperature in the tropics .
Statistical model based on climate variables observed during the pre-monsoon.
All of them are ‘ensembles’ meaning smaller models are combined to arrive at an average value.

2. EXTRADITION

Subject : International Relations

Context : UK govt approves extradition of Nirav Modi to India

Concept :

As defined by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, ‘Extradition is the delivery on the part of one State to another of those whom it is desired to deal with for crimes of which they have been accused or convicted and are justifiable in the Courts of the other State’.
An Extradition request for an accused can be initiated in the case of under-investigation, under-trial and convicted criminals.
In cases under investigation, abundant precautions have to be exercised by the law enforcement agency to ensure that it is in possession of prima facie evidence to sustain the allegation before the Courts of Law in the Foreign State.
The Extradition Act 1962 provides India’s legislative basis for extradition.
It consolidated the law relating to the extradition of criminal fugitive from India to foreign states. The Indian Extradition Act, 1962 was substantially modified in 1993 by Act 66 of 1993.

Nodal authority for Extradition in India

The Consular, Passport & Visa (CPV) Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India is the Central/Nodal Authority that administers the Extradition Act and it processes incoming and outgoing Extradition Requests.

An alleged offender may not be extradited to the requesting state in the following cases:

No treaty – In absence of a treaty, States are not obligated to extradite aliens/nationals.
No treaty crime – Extradition is generally limited to crimes identified in the treaty which may vary in relation to one State from another, as provided by the treaty.
Military and Political Offences – Extradition may be denied for purely military and political offences. Terrorist offences and violent crimes are excluded from the definition of political offences for the purposes of extradition treaties.
Want of Dual Criminality – Dual criminality exists when conduct constituting the offence amounts to a criminal offence in both India and the foreign country.
Procedural considerations – Extradition may be denied when due procedure as required by the Extradition Act of 1962 is not followed.

3. DUSTSTORM

Subject : Geography

Context : Strong Dust Storm And Rain In Delhi, Traffic Jams In Some Areas

Concept :

Sand and dust storms are common meteorological hazards in arid and semi-arid regions. They are usually caused by thunderstorms – or strong pressure gradients associated with cyclones – which increase wind speed over a wide area.
Sand and dust particles are distinguished by their grain size. Storms carrying bigger particles are known as Sand Storm whereas those carrying smaller are called dust Storms.
Marginal dry lands are increasingly a source of major dust storms. These areas have fragile, delicately balanced ecosystems. Their degradation, called desertification, makes the soil less resilient to wind during prolonged drought.

Formation of Dust Storms

Sand and dust storms usually occur when strong winds lift large amounts of sand and dust from bare, dry soils into the atmosphere.
Once released from the surface, dust particles are raised to higher levels of the troposphere by turbulent mixing and convective updrafts.
They are transported by winds for lengths of time, depending on their size and meteorological conditions, before being pulled back down to the surface again.
As larger particles sediment more quickly than smaller ones, there is a shift toward smaller particle sizes during transport.
Areas which have higher moisture witness thunderstorm and areas relatively devoid of moisture suffer from dust storms.

4. MK 4482

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Antiviral drug MK-4482 shows promise against Covid-19.

Concept :

An experimental antiviral drug, MK-4482, significantly decreased levels of virus and disease damage in the lungs of hamsters treated for SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to a new study from scientists from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), and published in the journal Nature Communications.
The scientists found MK-4482 treatment effective when provided up to 12 hours before or 12 hours after infecting the hamsters with SARS-CoV-2.

About MK 4482

The antiviral drug Molnupiravir, or MK-4482/EIDD-2801, is taken orally.
The research team repurposed MK-4482/EIDD-2801 against SARS-CoV-2 and tested it on ferrets.
In ferrets, the drug was shown to completely suppress transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in 12 hours.
Researchers infected ferrets with SARS-CoV-2 and initiated treatment with MK-4482/EIDD-2801 when the animals started to shed the virus from the nose.
Ferrets are a popular model for influenza and other respiratory infections because their lung physiology is similar to humans and researchers hope they will mimic aspects of Covid-19 in people such as its spread.
The drug basically stops replication of the copies of the virus’s RNA in the cell.
The drug is like any other anti-flu drug and was on our list of drugs to go into clinical trials. There are several promising drugs and they are under evaluation.
The phase 2/3 trial is a randomised, placebo-controlled double-blind clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MK-4482 in hospitalised adults with Covid 19 across 46 locations in various countries.

5. MONSOON CORE ZONE

Subject : Geography

Context : IMD has also been making efforts to develop a separate forecast for the Monsoon Core Zone (MCZ), which represents most of the rainfed agriculture region in the country. A separate forecast will be more useful for agricultural planning and crop yield estimation, etc.

Concept :

Sub-seasonal rainfall fluctuations, characterized as active and weak spells during the Indian monsoon season (June to September) is an important component of the variability of the Indian monsoon rainfall.
A new criteria for identification of active and break events of the Indian summer monsoon have been recommended on the basis of the high resolution daily gridded rainfall data set over India (1951-2007) .
Based on this criteria, the active and break events were identified from the average rainfall data over a critical area, called the core monsoon zone within which the monsoon trough/ Continental Tropical Convergence Zone (CTCZ) normally fluctuates.
The active and break spells for the period 1901-2015 were derived using IMDs new high resolution (0.25 x 0.25 degree) daily gridded rainfall data set .
Active and break events are defined as periods in which the normalized anomaly of the rainfall over the monsoon zone exceeds 1 or is less than -1.0 respectively, provided the criterion is satisfied for at least three consecutive days.

6. RT PCR TEST

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Maharashtra says fortnightly RT-PCR tests not mandatory for those delivering essential services.

Concept :

RT-PCR Test:

Normally DNA holds information about ingredients that make up a living being. The information coded in the DNA is converted into functional proteins in a living being which is called as gene expression.
The process of gene expression happens in 2 processes namely transcription and translation.
In the 1st step the information coded in the DNA is transcripted on to an RNA in the nucleus. The job of copying this information onto RNA is done by an enzyme in the nucleus called RNA polymerase.

PCR technique

Kary Mullis, an American biochemist invented the PCR technique. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1993.Under this, copies of a segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are created using an enzyme called Polymerase.The ‘chain reaction’ signifies how the DNA fragments are copied, exponentially — one is copied into two, the two are copied into four, and so on.
So the DNA from the patient’s sample is collected and multiplied manifold using PCR which is then detected by a probe.’’
However, coronavirus is made of RNA (ribonucleic acid). They cannot be replicated directly using PCR. Therefore to detect coronavirus, RNA is converted into DNA using a technique called reverse transcription.
A ‘reverse transcriptase’ enzyme converts the RNA into DNA. Copies of the DNA are then made and amplified.

Advantage of PCR Test over Rapid-Antibody Testing

In case of PCR tests, it is the presence of an antigen in the infected patient that is tested for instead of the presence of antibodies which is done in case of Rapid Antibody testing
Thus, detecting the presence of pathogen in the body before body’s antibodies form can detect the infection early.

7. MGNREGA

Subject : Government schemes

Context : As COVID batters India again, govt must scale up MGNREGA to support migrants.

Concept :

About MGNREGA

MGNREGA is one of the largest work guarantee programmes in the world. It is one of the core of the core scheme under Government of India.
Objective: The primary objective of the scheme is to guarantee 100 days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work.
Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, the Centre decides the state-wise wage rates for unskilled manual workers who work under the rural job guarantee scheme.
The wage rates are fixed as per changes in the Consumer Price Index- Agriculture Labor, which reflects inflation in rural areas.
Legal Right to Work: Unlike earlier employment guarantee schemes, the act aims at addressing the causes of chronic poverty through a rights-based framework.
At least one-third of beneficiaries have to be women.
Wages must be paid according to the statutory minimum wages specified for agricultural labourers in the state under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
Demand-Driven Scheme: The most important part of MGNREGA’s design is its legally-backed guarantee for any rural adult to get work within 15 days of demanding it, failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.
This demand-driven scheme enables the self-selection of workers.
Decentralised planning: There is an emphasis on strengthening the process of decentralisation by giving a significant role in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in planning and implementing these works.
The act mandates Gram sabhas to recommend the works that are to be undertaken and at least 50% of the works must be executed by them.

8. NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

Subject : Environment

Context :The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted an eight-member National Task Force to combat air pollution and monitor remedial steps to improve air quality.

Concept :

It is a specialised body set up under the National Green Tribunal Act (2010) for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
With the establishment of the NGT, India became the third country in the world to set up a specialised environmental tribunal, only after Australia and New Zealand, and the first developing country to do so.
NGT is mandated to make disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the same.
The NGT has five places of sittings, New Delhi is the Principal place of sitting and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai are the other four.

Structure of NGT

The Tribunal comprises of the Chairperson, the Judicial Members and Expert Members. They shall hold office for term of five years and are not eligible for reappointment.
The Chairperson is appointed by the Central Government in consultation with Chief Justice of India (CJI). A selection committee would be formed for this purpose.

Powers & Jurisdiction

The Tribunal has jurisdiction over all civil cases involving substantial question relating to environment (including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment).
Being a statutory adjudicatory body like Courts, apart from original jurisdiction side on filing of an application, NGT also has appellate jurisdiction to hear appeal as a Court (Tribunal).
The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, but shall be guided by principles of ‘natural justice’.
While passing any order/decision/ award, it shall apply the principles of sustainable development, the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle.
An order/decision/award of Tribunal is executable as a decree of a civil court.
The NGT Act also provides a procedure for a penalty for non compliance.
An appeal against order/decision/ award of the NGT lies to the Supreme Court, generally within ninety days from the date of communication.

The NGT deals with civil cases under the seven laws related to the environment, these include:

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974,
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977,
The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980,
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981,
The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986,
The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 and
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Any violation pertaining to these laws or any decision taken by the Government under these laws can be challenged before the NGT.

9. CURRENCY WATCH LIST

Subject : International Relations

Context : India is one of 11 countries on the U.S. Treasury’s ‘Monitoring List’ with regard to their currency practices as per the April 2021 edition.

Concept :

Currency Manipulators:

This is a label given by the US government to countries it feels are engaging in “unfair currency practices” by deliberately devaluing their currency against the dollar.
The practice would mean that the country in question is artificially lowering the value of its currency to gain an unfair advantage over others. This is because the devaluation would reduce the cost of exports from that country and artificially show a reduction in trade deficits as a result.

Currency Manipulator Watch List:

The US Department of Treasury releases the semi-annual report where it has to track developments in international economies and inspect foreign exchange rates.
Criteria: An economy meeting two of the three criteria in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 is placed on the Watch List. This includes:
A “significant” bilateral trade surplus with the US — one that is at least USD 20 billion over a 12-month period.
A material current account surplus equivalent to at least 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) over a 12-month period.
“Persistent”, one-sided intervention — when net purchases of foreign currency totalling at least 2% of the country’s GDP over a 12 month period are conducted repeatedly, in at least six out of 12 months.
Consequence: Inclusion in the list does not subject to any kind of penalty and sanctions but it deteriorates the global financial image of the country in the financial markets in terms of foreign exchange policies including undervaluation of currencies to gain export advantages.

10. ECLGS

Subject : Government Schemes

Context : Finance Ministry widens emergency credit line guarantee scheme scope to SMA-1 loans.

Concept :

ECLGS was rolled out as part of the Centre’s Aatmanirbhar package in response to the Covid-19 crisis. The objective was to support small businesses struggling to meet their operational liabilities due to the imposition of a nationwide lockdown.
The ECLGS provides for the Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility. The GECL is a loan for which 100% guarantee is provided by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) – banks, financial institutions and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
The loans are extended in the form of additional working capital term loan facility in case of banks and additional term loan facility in case of NBFCs to eligible MSME enterprises and interested Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) borrowers.
First-time borrowers and Non-Performing Asset (NPA) accounts cannot raise funds under the scheme.
The tenor of loans provided under the GECL facility is four years from the date of disbursement.
A moratorium period of one year on the principal amount is provided.
Interest rates of banks and financial institutions have been capped at 9.25% per annum, while NBFCs can lend at a maximum of 14% per annum.

11. SUPACE

Subject : Governance

Context : SUPACE, a composite AI-assisted tool, can be used to push up efficiency of legal researchers and judges; it will read case files, extract relevant information, draft case documents and manage apportioning of work.

Concept :

SUPACE is short for Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court’s Efficiency.
Earlier, the E-Courts Project was conceptualised on the basis of “National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary – 2005” submitted by the e-Committee of the Supreme Court.

About SUPACE:

It is a tool that collects relevant facts and laws and makes them available to a judge.
It is not designed to take decisions, but only to process facts and to make them available to judges looking for an input for a decision.
Initially, it will be used on an experimental basis by the judges of Bombay and Delhi High Courts who deal with criminal matters.

Significance:

It will produce results customized to the need of the case and the way the judge thinks.
This will be time saving. It will help the judiciary and the court in reducing delays and pendency of cases.
AI will present a more streamlined, cost effective and time bound means to the fundamental right of access to justice.
It will make the service delivery mechanism transparent and cost-efficient.

SUVAS ( ‘Supreme Court VidhikAnuvaad Software’)

It is a machine-assisted translation tool trained by Artificial Intelligence.
This Tool is specially designed for Judicial Domain and at present, has the capacity and capability of translating English Judicial documents, Orders, or Judgments into nine vernacular language scripts and vice versa.
This is the first step towards the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in the Judicial Domain.
Currently, SUVAS software is being used for translating Supreme Court judgments into nine vernacular languages — Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Odiya, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu which will be further expanded to other regional languages too.
Right now cases related to Labour, Rent Act, Land Acquisition and Requisition, Service, Compensation, Criminal, Family Law, Ordinary Civil, Personal Law, Religious and Charitable Endowments, Simple money and Mortgage, Eviction under the Public Premises (Eviction) Act, Land Laws and Agriculture Tenancies and Consumer Protection are being translated.