Daily Prelims Notes 18 March 2021

March 18, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

18 March 2021

Table Of Contents

Subject : History

Context: A government seminar conducted recently in Delhi highlighted the legacy of the long-forgotten Tomar king — Anangpal II.

Concept:

Anangpal II, popularly known as AnangpalTomar, belonged to the Tomar dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Delhi and Haryana between the 8th and 12th centuries.
Their rule is attested by multiple inscriptions and coins.
Anangpal II was instrumental in populating Indraprastha and giving it its present name, Delhi.
The region was in ruins when he ascended the throne in the 11th century; it was he who built Lal Kot fort and Anang Tal Baoli.

The Tomars of Delhi

The Tomars were the feudatories of the Pratiharas.
They founded the city of Delhi in 736 A.D.
MahipalaTomar captured Thaneshwar, Hansi and Nagarkot in 1043 A.D.
Chauhans captured Delhi in middle of the 12th century and the Tomars became their feudatories.

2. COTTON CORPORATION OF INDIA

Subject: National Organisations

Concept:

Cotton Corporation of India was established in 1970 under Companies Act 1956.
It’s a Government of India’s corporate agency, engaged in diverse activities related to trade, procurement, and export of cotton.
CCI is governed by Textile Policy 1985 issued by Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
CCI operates in the following states as of now – Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka , Tamil Nadu and Orissa.

3. EUROPEAN UNION

Subject: International Organisations

Context: EU sets out virus pass plan to allow free travel by summer

Concept:

The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 27 EU countries that together cover much of the continent.
19 of these countries use EURO as their official currency. 8 EU members (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden) do not use the euro.
The EU grew out of a desire to form a single European political entity to end centuries of warfare among European countries that culminated with World War II and decimated much of the continent.
The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in matters, where members have agreed to act as one.

Origin of the European Union:

Despite not being officially formed until 1993, the European Union’s foundations actually reach further back to 1957, when the European Economic Community was established.
The EEC was formed out of a previous group called the European Coal and Steel Community – which had its own start in 1951.
In 1993, the EEC morphed into the European Union following the new Maastricht Treaty (also known as the Treaty on European Union).
Additionally, the Treaty of Lisbon, enacted in 2009, gave the European Union more broad powers that included being authorized to sign international treaties, increase border patrol, and other security and enforcement provisions.

4. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DISASTER RESILENCE INFRASTRUCTURE

Subject: International Relations

Context: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the opening ceremony of International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure through video conference.

Concept:

The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI 2021) is an interactive virtual conference which follows International Workshops on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) held in 2018 and 2019.
ICDRI is the annual international conference of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in partnership with member countries, organizations and institutions to strengthen the global discourse on disaster and climate resilient infrastructure.

About CDRI:

It was launched by PM Modi in September 2019 at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in New York, US.
A platform where knowledge is generated and exchanged on different aspects of disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure.
It will create a mechanism to assist countries to upgrade their capacities and practices, with regard to infrastructure development in accordance with their risk context and economic needs.

5. DISTRICT MINERAL FOUNDATION

Subject: Government Schemes

Context: The Centre has inserted a new clause into the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021, to take control of the district mineral funds from the state governments.

Concept:

DMFs:

DMFs were instituted under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Amendment Act 2015.
They are non-profit trusts to work for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining-related operations.
Objective: To work for the interest of the benefit of the persons and areas affected mining related operations in such manner as may be prescribed by the State Government.
Its manner of operation comes under the jurisdiction of the relevant State Government.
The fund is collected at the district level(District Mineral Fund) .
There are certain high-priority areas identified in all states’ DMF rules, where at least 60 per cent of the fund must be used. These include vital and pressing concerns, including healthcare.
The various state DMF rules and the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Khestra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) guidelines stipulate some “high priority” issues for DMFs
They are, drinking water, health, women and child welfare,.education, livelihood and skill development, welfare of aged and disabled, sanitation.

Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY):

The programme is meant to provide for the welfare of areas and people affected by mining related operations, using the funds generated by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).

Objectives of the scheme:

To implement various developmental and welfare projects/programs in mining affected areas that complement the existing ongoing schemes/projects of State and Central Government.
To minimize/mitigate the adverse impacts, during and after mining, on the environment, health and socio-economics of people in mining districts.
To ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected people in mining areas.

6. NATIONAL REGISTER OF CITIZENS

Subject: Economy

Context: No Decision Yet on Nationwide NRC, Govt Tells Rajya Sabha.

Concept:

The NRC is the list of Indian citizens and was prepared in 1951, following the census of 1951.
The process of NRC update was taken up in Assam as per a Supreme Court order in 2013.
In order to wean out cases of illegal migration from Bangladesh and other adjoining areas, NRC updation was carried out under The Citizenship Act, 1955, and according to rules framed in the Assam Accord.
It set March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for the deportation of illegal migrants.
Since the cut-off date prescribed under articles 5 and 6 of the Constitution was July 19, 1949 – to give force to the new date, an amendment was made to the Citizenship Act, 1955, and a new section was introduced.
It was made applicable only to Assam.

7. NIRBHAYA FUND

Subject: Government schemes

Context: A Bengaluru-based lawyer has alleged that the guidelines issued after the Nirbhaya rape case have been violated in the sex CD scandal involving former Karnataka Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi.

Concept:

About Nirbhaya fund:

The Rs 1,000 crore Nirbhaya Fund was announced in Union Budget 2013 by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
The corpus was to be utilised for upholding safety and dignity of women.
Ministry of Women and Child Development apart from several other concerned ministries were authorised to work out details of structure, scope and application of this fund.
The Fund is administered by Department of Economic Affairs of the finance ministry.

8. AMICUS CURIAE

Subject: Polity

Context: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made a strong appeal to the Supreme Court to frame guidelines to rein in lawyers appointed as the court’s amici curiae in various cases, especially sensitive ones.

Concept:

An amicus curiae (literally, “friend of the court”; plural: amici curiae) is someone who is not a party to a case who assists a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case.
The decision on whether to consider an amicus brief lies within the discretion of the court.
The amicus curiae figure originates in Roman law. Starting in the 9th century, it was incorporated into English law, and it was later extended to most common law systems.

9. APPROPRIATION BILL

Subject: Polity

Context: The Lok Sabha cleared the Appropriation Bill 2021-22, allowing the Central government to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for its operational requirements and implementation of various programmes.

Concept:

Under Article 114(3) of the Constitution, no amount can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund without the enactment of such a law by Parliament.
After the Demands for Grants are voted by the Lok Sabha, Parliament’s approval to the withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund of the amounts so voted and of the amount required to meet the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund is sought through the Appropriation Bill.

Guillotine

The Bill was passed after Speaker Om Birla put it through guillotine, a legislative mechanism to approve the fast-tracking of the passage of outstanding demands for grants without discussion.
While guillotine literally is a large, weighted blade used for executing a condemned person, in legislative parlance, to ”guillotine” means to bunch together and fast-track the passage of financial business.
It is a fairly common procedural exercise in Lok Sabha during the Budget Session.

Finance Bill

The Lok Sabha will now discuss the Finance Bill, which essentially contains the government’s tax proposals. Once the Finance Bill is passed, the budget exercise is complete.
Both appropriation and finance bills are classified as money bills which do not require the explicit consent of the Rajya Sabha. The upper house only discusses them and returns the bills.
After passing the Finance Bill, it enters the statute as the Finance Act. Thus, the final Budget gets approved.