Daily Prelims Notes 18 May 2021

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

Daily Prelims Notes

18 May 2021

Table Of Contents

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Amid rising concerns about new SARS-CoV2 variants and a surge in Covid-19 cases, the government plans to add 17 laboratories to the INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia) network to test genome

Concept :

What is a Genome?

Every organism’s genetic code is contained in its Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA), the building blocks of life.
The discovery that DNA is structured as a “double helix” by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, started the quest for understanding how genes dictate life, its traits, and what causes diseases.
A genome is all the genetic matter in an organism. It is defined as “an organism’s complete set of DNA, including all of its genes.
Each genome contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism.
In humans, a copy of the entire genome contains more than 3 billion DNA base pairs.

2. BiPAP MACHINE

Subject : Science & tech

Context : A total of 50 BiPaP machines, clinically known as bi-level positive airway pressure used for Covid patients with compromised lung health, have arrived from Hyderabad to Raigarh.

Concept :

Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure Machines

A BPAP is a form of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) therapy used to facilitate breathing.
BPAP machines can be used in hospitals, and are also available for those who need them at home.
Home BPAP machines are compact — about the size of a toaster. The machine features a tube that connects to a mask which is worn over your nose and mouth.
Like other ventilators, BPAP machines use pressure to push air into your lungs. Depending on the settings, this opens the lungs, improving the level of oxygen in the blood and decreasing the carbon dioxide.

These machines are called “bilevel” because they have two air pressure settings:

When you breathe in, BPAP machines deliver more air pressure. This is also known as inspiratory positive airway pressure (IPAP).
When you breathe out, the machine reduces the air pressure. This is called expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP).
Some BPAP machines have a timer that can be programmed to maintain a certain number of breaths per minute.

3. DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY

Subject : International Relations

Context : Recently, the wife of Belgium’s ambassador to South Korea will now be exercising her diplomatic immunity to avoid criminal charges after she allegedly hit two staff members at a boutique in Seoul.

Concept :

It is a privilege of exemption from certain laws and taxes granted to diplomats by the country in which they are posted.
The custom was formed so that diplomats can function without fear, threat or intimidation from the host country.
The diplomatic immunity is granted on the basis of two conventions, popularly called the Vienna Conventions;

The Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, and

The Convention on Consular Relations, 1963

India ratified the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in 2008.

What is the extent of this immunity?

According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, the immunity enjoyed by a diplomat posted in the embassy is “inviolable”.
The diplomat cannot be arrested or detained and his house will have the same inviolability and protection as the embassy.
It is possible for the diplomat’s home country to waive immunity but this can happen only when the individual has committed a ‘serious crime’, unconnected with their diplomatic role or has witnessed such a crime.
The diplomatic immunity is intended to “insulate” diplomats from harm but it does not insulate their countries from a bad reputation and a blow to bilateral ties.
The privilege of diplomatic immunity is not for an individual’s benefit.
If a diplomat acts outside his business of conducting international relations, a question arises over whether his immunity still applies.

4. IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON OLDEST CAVE PAINTING

Subject : Culture

Context : Recently, the researchers in the online peer-reviewed open access journal ‘Scientific Reports’ have reported that world’s oldest cave art are weathering at an alarming rate due to climate change.

Concept :

The researchers studied flakes of rock that have begun to detach from cave surfaces to find that salts in three of the samples comprise calcium sulphate and sodium chloride.
The artwork made with pigments was decaying due to a process known as haloclasty.
It is triggered by the growth of salt crystals due to repeated changes in temperature and humidity, caused by alternating wet and dry weather in the region.
Indonesia has also experienced several natural disasters in recent years, which have quickened the process of deterioration.
The extreme patterns of increased seasonal moisture from monsoonal rains and worsening droughts are accelerating rock art deterioration.

World’s Oldest Cave Art

It is a Pleistocene-era rock paintings dating back to 45,000-20,000 years ago.
It is located in cave sites in southern Sulawesi, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
The limestone cave walls are adorned with hand stencils of red and mulberry tint, in addition to paintings of native mammals and human-animal hybrids.

Significance of the cave paintings

A team of Australian and Indonesian archaeological scientists, conservation specialists, and heritage managers examined 11 caves and rock-shelters in the Maros-Pangkep region in Sulawesi.
The artwork in the area includes what is believed to be the world’s oldest hand stencil created by pressing the hand on a cave wall, and spraying wet red-mulberry pigments over it.
A nearby cave features the world’s oldest depiction of an animal, a warty pig painted on the wall 45,500 years ago.
The cave art of Sulawesi is much older than the prehistoric cave art of Europe.

5. RETAIL vs WPI INFLATION

Subject : Economics

Context : The wholesale price-based inflation shot up to an all-time high of 10.49 per cent in April, on rising prices of crude oil and manufactured items. Also, a low base of April last year contributed to the spike in inflation in April 2021.

Concept :

Wholesale Price Index

It is the most widely used inflation indicator in India.
Published by the Office of Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
All transactions at the first point of bulk sale in the domestic market are included.
Major criticism for this index is that the general public does not buy products at wholesale price.
The base year of All-India WPI has been revised from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in 2017.

Consumer Price Index / Retail Inflation

It measures price changes from the perspective of a retail buyer.
The CPI calculates the difference in the price of commodities and services such as food, medical care, education, electronics etc, which Indian consumers buy for use.
The CPI has several sub-groups including food and beverages, fuel and light, housing and clothing, bedding and footwear.
Four types of CPI are as follows:
CPI for Industrial Workers (IW).
CPI for Agricultural Labourer (AL).
CPI for Rural Labourer (RL).
CPI (Rural/Urban/Combined).
Of these, the first three are compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Fourth is compiled by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Base Year for CPI is 2012.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) uses CPI data to control inflation.

WPI Vs CPI

While WPI keeps track of the wholesale price of goods, the CPI measures the average price that households( retail buyers ) pay for a basket of different goods and services.
Even as the WPI is used as a key measure of inflation in some economies, the RBI no longer uses it for policy purposes, including setting repo rates.
The central bank currently uses CPI or retail inflation as a key measure of inflation to set the monetary and credit policy.

6. FDI vs FPI

Subject : Economics

Context : Net foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country hit a fresh high of $43.366 billion in the year ended March 2021 as it crossed the previous high of $43.013 billion that it had reach last fiscal.

Concept :

Foreign Direct Investment

FDI is the process whereby residents of one country (the home country) acquire ownership of assets for the purpose of controlling the production, distribution and other activities of a firm in another country (the host country).
It is different from Foreign Portfolio Investment where the foreign entity merely buys stocks and bonds of a company. FPI does not provide the investor with control over the business.
Flows of FDI comprise capital provided (either directly or through other related enterprises) by a foreign direct investor to an enterprise.
FDI has three components, viz., equity capital, reinvested earnings and intra-company loans.
Equity capital is the foreign direct investor’s purchase of shares of an enterprise in a country other than its own.
Reinvested earnings comprise the direct investors’ share (in proportion to direct equity participation) of earnings not distributed as dividends by affiliates, or earnings not remitted to the direct investor. Such retained profits by affiliates are reinvested.
Intra-company loans or intra-company debt transactions refer to short- or long-term borrowing and lending of funds between direct investors (or enterprises) and affiliate enterprises.

Routes through which India gets FDI:

Automatic Route: In this, the foreign entity does not require the prior approval of the government or the RBI.
Government route: In this, the foreign entity has to take the approval of the government.
The Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal (FIFP) facilitates the single window clearance of applications which are through approval route.

Foreign Portfolio Investments

Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) refers to investing in the financial assets of a foreign country, such as stocks or bonds available on an exchange.
This type of investment is at times viewed less favorably than direct investment because portfolio investments can be sold off quickly and are at times seen as short-term attempts to make money, rather than a long-term investment in the economy.
Portfolio investments typically have a shorter time frame for investment return than direct investments.
As securities are easily traded, the liquidity of portfolio investments makes them much easier to sell than direct investments. With any equity investment, foreign portfolio investors usually expect to quickly realize a profit on their investments.
Portfolio investments are more accessible for the average investor than direct investments because they require much less investment capital and research.
Examples of foreign portfolio investments include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, American depositary receipts (ADRs), and global depositary receipts (GDRs).

7. FARZAD B GAS FIELD

Subject : International Relations

Context : Recently, Iran gave the Farzad-B Gas Field to Petropars, a domestic gas producer. This is a setback for India’s energy ties with Iran as ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) had discovered the gas field in 2008 and has been part of the ongoing cooperation on that front.

Concept :

Farzad-B Gas Field:

It is located in Persian Gulf (Iran).
The contract for exploration of the field was signed in 2002 by Indian consortium comprising ONGC Videsh, Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India.
The contract expired in 2009 after declaration of commerciality of the field, based on the gas discovery.
It has gas reserves of more than 19 trillion cubic feet.
ONGC has invested approximately USD 100 million.
Since then, the consortium has been trying to secure the contract for development of the field.
The major dispute between India and Iran was over setting up of two pipelines, and also over money to be quoted on the development plan.
Around 75% of the deal was finalised by May 2018, when the US unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal and announced sanctions on Iran.
In January 2020, India was informed that in the immediate future, Iran would develop the field on its own and would like to involve India appropriately at a later stage.

Other Recent Developments:

Indian merchants have almost entirely stopped signing new export contracts with Iranian buyers due to caution about Iran’s falling rupee reserves with Indian banks.
Iran in 2020 dropped India’s USD 2-billion offer and decided to build the Chabahar railway link (Chabahar-Zahedan Railway Line) on its own.

8. GOLD EXCHANGE

Subject : Economics

Context : The Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has floated a consultation paper on the proposed framework for Gold Exchange in India.

Concept :

The proposal was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her FY22 Budget speech.
SEBI, entrusted with the task of regulating the proposed exchange, including for vaulting, assaying and gold quality and delivery standards, said the existing stock exchanges may deal in ‘electronic gold receipt’ (EGR) through a separate segment.
The markets regulator has also suggested a new exchange exclusively for EGR that would have advantages such as better liquidity and single-price reference.
As far as transactions are concerned, SEBI working groups have suggested that an entire transaction be divided into three tranches.
It has been proposed that the vault manager should have a net worth of ₹50 crore and will be required to furnish security deposits.

9. SPANISH FLU

Subject : Science & tech

Context : In the beginning of COVID-19 last year, thousands of people around the world shared an image on social media depicting the three waves of the 1918 influenza pandemic, commonly known as the Spanish flu.

Concept :

Spanish flu was caused by an H1N1 influenza virus
There is no universal consensus regarding where the virus originated. It is believed that World War I was partly responsible for it’s spread.
Spain was one of the earliest countries where the epidemic was identified, but historians believe this was likely a result of wartime censorship.
Spain was a neutral nation during the war and did not enforce strict censorship of its press, which freely published early accounts of the illness. As a result, people falsely believed the illness was specific to Spain, and the name “Spanish flu” stuck.

H1N1 Virus

H1N1 influenza virus causes Swine Flu.
Swine Flu is an infection of the respiratory tract characterized by the usual symptoms of flu — cough, nasal secretions, fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, and headache.
It is called swine flu because it was known in the past to occur in people who had been in the vicinity of pigs.
The virus is transmitted by short-distance airborne transmission, particularly in crowded enclosed spaces. Hand contamination and direct contact are other possible sources of transmission.