Daily Prelims Notes 19 August 2020

August 19, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: Science and tech

Context :

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is all set to direct telecom companies to undertake an “information security audit” of their networks and submit the report by October end

Concept :

An information security audit is a step-by-step assessment of the complete network infrastructure which checks for the equipment installed and the latest upgrades done in order to prevent any data leakages.
The auditors also check the data storage and security policies of the company and check whether all sections of the company adhere to the norms set by the company itself.
Apart from that, some auditing agencies also launch a controlled bug into the network of the company to check for ‘Backdoor and Trapdoor’ vulnerabilities, and see what all systems are being impacted.
DoT is likely to suggest to the companies that the external audit should be done only by an agency empanelled with Cert-IN

Backdoor and Trapdoor

A ‘backdoor’ or a ‘trap door’ is a bug installed in the telecom hardware which allows companies to listen in or collect data being shared on the network.

Computer Emergency Response Team – India (CERT-IN)

It is an organisation of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology with the objective of securing Indian cyberspace.
It is the nodal agency which deals with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing.
It collects analyses and disseminates information on cyber incidents, and also issues alert on cybersecurity incidents.
CERT-IN provides Incident Prevention and Response Services as well as Security Quality Management Services.

2. Industry Categories (Based on pollution)

Subject: Environment

Context:

Madras High Court rejected a plea by Vedanta-owned Sterlite Copper seeking permission to reopen its massive copper smelter in the southern port city of Thoothukudi.
Concept :

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has developed the criteria of categorization of industrial sectors based on the Pollution Index.
Pollution Index is a function of the emissions (air pollutants), effluents (water pollutants), hazardous wastes generated and consumption of resources.
The Pollution Index PI of any industrial sector is a number from 0 to 100 and the increasing value of PI denotes the increasing degree of pollution load from the industrial sector.
The following criteria on the range of Pollution Index for the purpose of categorization of industrial sectors are finalized.
- Red category– Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 60 and above. These are severe polluting industries. Total 60 industries including sugar, thermal power plants, paints and others are under in it.No Red category of industries shall normally be permitted in the ecologically fragile area / protected area.
- Orange category– Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 41 to 59. They moderately polluting industries. Total 83 industries like coal, washeries and automobile servicing are placed under it.
- Green category– Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score of 21 to 40. They are significantly low polluting industries. Total 63 industries are under in it.
- White category – Industrial Sectors having Pollution Index score including &upto 20. They are non-polluting industries. Total 30 industries are under in it. These industries are exempted from requirement of environmental clearance.

3. NDRF Vs PM-CARES

Subject: Schemes

Context:

Supreme Court of India dismissed a petition filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) demanding the transfer of funds from PM CARES Fund to the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).

Concept:

NDRF

The National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), constituted under Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, supplements SDRF of a State, in case of a disaster of severe nature, provided adequate funds are not available in SDRF.
It is a fund managed by the Central Government for meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation due to any threatening disaster situation or disaster.
NDRF amount can be spent only towards meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation.
It is financed through the levy of a cess on certain items, chargeable to excise and customs duty, and approved annually through the Finance Bill.
The requirement for funds beyond what is available under the NDRF is met through general budgetary resources.
A provision also exists in the DM Act to encourage any person or institution to make a contribution to the NDRF.
It is kept under “Public Accounts” of Government of India.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) audits the accounts of NDRF.
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) monitors relief activities for calamities associated with drought, hailstorms, pest attacks and cold wave /frost while rest of the natural calamities are monitored by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

PM-CARES

Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, or the PM CARES Fund, was set up to tackle distress situations such as that posed by the COVID19 pandemic.
The fund receives voluntary contributions from individuals and organisations and does not get any budgetary support. Donations have been made tax exempt, and can be counted against a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR)
It is also exempt from the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, and accepts foreign contributions, although the Centre has previously refused foreign aid to deal with disasters such as the Kerala floods.
The Prime Minister chairs the fund in his official capacity, and can nominate three eminent persons in relevant fields to the Board of Trustees. The Ministers of Defense, Home Affairs and Finance are ex officio Trustees of the Fund.

Concerns

It is not clear whether the fund comes under the ambit of the RTI Act or oversight by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, although independent auditors will audit the fund
The PM CARES web page is opaque regarding the amount of money collected, names of donors, expenditure of the fund so far, or names of beneficiaries. The PMNRF provides annual donation and expenditure information without any detailed breakup.
The PM CARES Fund’s trust deed is not available for public scrutiny.
The decision to allow uncapped corporate donations to the fund to count as CSR expenditure, a facility not provided to PMNRF or the CM’s Relief Funds goes against previous guidelines stating that CSR should not be used to fund government schemes.
A government panel had previously advised against allowing CSR contributions to the PMNRF on the grounds that the double benefit of tax exemption would be a “regressive incentive”

4. Entity for retail payments systems

Subject: Economy

Context:

Reserve Bank of India has unveiled the framework for setting up of pan-India Umbrella Entity for Retail Payments

Concept:

The entity will be tasked with setting up, managing, and operating new payment systems in the retail space. It may operate as a ‘for-profit’ organisation, the RBI said.
The entity formed shall be a company incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 2013, and may be a ‘for-profit’ or a Section 8 Company as may be decided by it.
According to the RBI guidelines, the entity will have minimum paid-up capital of Rs 500 crore, with no single promoter group holding over 40 per cent investment in the capital.
Based on the framework, payments system operators, as well as payments and technology service providers with three years of experience, are eligible to apply.

5. Asian development bank

Subject: IR

Context:

Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, who was next in line to become the chief election commissioner in 2021 resigned from his post to join the Asian Development Bank.

Concept:

ADB was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world.
A resolution passed at the first Ministerial Conference on Asian Economic Cooperation held by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East in 1963 set that vision on the way to becoming reality.
The Philippines capital of Manila was chosen to host the new institution, which opened on 19 December 1966.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) envisions a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty in the region.
ADB assists its members, and partners, by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.
ADB maximizes the development impact of its assistance by facilitating policy dialogues, providing advisory services, and mobilizing financial resources through co-financing operations that tap official, commercial, and export credit sources.
From 31 members at its establishment in 1966, ADB has grown to encompass 68 members of which 49 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.

6. National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020

Subject: Reports

Context:

National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020 has been released by the Indian Council of Medical Research

Concept:

It estimates there will be 13.9 lakh cases of cancer in India in 2020, and that this number is likely to rise to 15.7 lakh by 2025.
According to the data, tobacco-related cancers will account for 27.1 per cent of India’s cancer burden in 2020, followed by gastrointestinal cancer (19.7 per cent) and cancer of the cervix uteri (5.4 per cent).
The NCRP was set up by the ICMR in 1982 to “create evidence on the burden, pattern and distribution of cancer”, for survival and management of the disease.
Cancers of the lung, mouth, stomach and oesophagus were the most common among men, while cancers of breast and cervix uteri were the most common among women, finds the report. It also says incidence of breast cancer is on the rise while cervical cancer is on the decline.

7. Parliamentary Committee power to summon

Subject: Polity

Context:

The information technology (IT) parliamentary committee is divided on summoning Facebook executives to clarify reports of bias towards the BJP in censoring hate speech.

Concept:

Committees are formed to see that Parliament functions effectively, discuss Bills referred to them by the presiding officers.
These MPs assemble during and between sessions, invite officials as well as experts, and are not bound by the party whips when it comes to discussion of a Bill, unlike in the House.
Department-related Standing Committees consider demands for grants for the ministry, and take up any subject based on Annual Reports and long-term policy documents relating to the ministries/departments under their jurisdiction
The committee has the powers to send a letter to any institution — asking it to appear and give an explanation on a subject.
The committee or chairman does not have executive powers, but calling a particular person or an institution as witness is possible.
An invitation to appear before a Parliamentary Committee is equivalent to a summons from a court: If one cannot come, he or she has to give reasons which the panel may or may not accept.
However, the chairman should have the support of the majority of the members. Any member can call for a meeting to discuss this, and if the majority of the members do not agree, the chairman may have to cancel the summoning.

8. Reservations in job

Subject: Polity

Context:

The Madhya Pradesh government’s decision to give government jobs only to “children” of the state is likely to trigger a fresh debate on the fundamental right to equality of citizens.

Concept:

Article 16(2) of the Constitution states that “no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against, in respect of any employment or office under the State.”
The Supreme Court has, in its rulings since 1955, underlined the distinction between domicile status and place of birth.
Domicile or status of residence is a fluid concept that can change from time to time, unlike place of birth. The place of birth is one of several grounds on which domicile status is conferred.