Daily Prelims Notes 20 May 2021
- May 20, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
20 May 2021
Table Of Contents
- GLYCOLYSIS
- AMPHOTERICIN- B
- POCSO ACT
- C.K.SUBRAMANIA MUDALIAR
- FCRA AMENDMENT
- WAVES IN PANDEMIC
- LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
- CRPTOCURRENCY
- FASTag & RFID
- UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES
- INFRASTRUCTURE STATUS
- MEDICINE FROM SKY PROJECT
- INDEPENDENT COLLEGIUM
- HAIYANG 2D
Subject : Science & tech
Context : Top doctors in key Covid wards are guarded in their reception to the 2-DG (2-deoxy-D-Glucose) drug the Centre launched Monday granting emergency use approval and saying it will reduce recovery time and oxygen dependency for Covid-19 patients.
Concept :
- Their consensus is that the principle behind 2-DG, traditionally used as a cancer drug, is well-established. It inhibits glycolysis.
Glycolysis
- Glycolysis is the process in which glucose is broken down to produce energy. It produces two molecules of pyruvate, ATP, NADH and water. The process takes place in the cytosol of the cell cytoplasm, in the presence or absence of oxygen.
- Glycolysis is the primary step of cellular respiration. In the absence of oxygen, the cells take small amounts of ATP through the process of fermentation.
- This metabolic pathway was discovered by three German biochemists- Gustav Embden, Otto Meyerhof, and Jakub Karol Parnas in the early 19th century and is known as the EMP pathway (Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas).
Subject : Science & tech
Context : An anti-fungal drug used in the treatment of a rare infection called mucormycosis, or “black fungus”, is in short supply across states in India.
Concept :
- It is fungistatic or fungicidal depending on the concentration obtained in body fluids and the susceptibility of the fungus.
- The antibiotic is without effect on bacteria, rickettsiae, and viruses.
- The drug acts by binding to sterols (ergosterol) in the cell membrane of susceptible fungi.
- It creates a transmembrane channel and the resultant change in membrane permeability allowing leakage of intracellular components.
- Amphotericin B, a polyene, binds irreversibly to ergosterol, resulting in disruption of membrane integrity and ultimately cell death.
Importance of Amphotericin B
- It shows a high order of in vitro activity against many species of fungi.
- Histoplasmacapsulatum, Coccidioidesimmitis, Candida species, Blastomycesdermatitidis, Rhodotorula, Cryptococcus neoformans, Sporothrixschenckii, Mucormucedo, and Aspergillus fumigatus are all inhibited by concentrations of amphotericin B.
- It is a polyene antifungal antibiotic produced by Streptomyces nodosus, with antifungal activity.
Subject : Legislations
Context : IPS officer charged with sexual assault on child made dist SP. The chargesheet was filed on March 31 this year under Sections 354, 354A (assault or criminal force to outrage modesty, sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Concept :
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
- It was enacted to protect the children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography with due regard for safeguarding the interest and well-being of children.
- It defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age and regards the best interests and welfare of the child as a matter of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child.
- It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
- It deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority like a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor.
- It also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process.
- The Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.
- It was amended in August 2019 to provide more stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for sexual crimes against children.
Subject : Important Personalities
Context : The Tamil Nadu government has decided to digitise papers regarding properties and assets owned by temples across the state — estimated to number over 44,000 — and make them available in the public domain, in line with a poll promise made by Chief Minister M K Stalin.
Concept :
- K.SubramaniaMudaliar (1878 – 1961 ) is well known for his treatise on PeriyaPuranam. However, he was also a patriot who supported the freedom movement from his student days.
- When SwadesamitranG.SubramaniaIyer came to Coimbatore, CKS and his friends wanted to take him in a procession.
- They participated in several meetings addressed by Surendranath Banerjee and also Bipin Chandra Pal in Madras.
- Later, the lawyer CKS joined the boycott of foreign goods by adhering to the clarion call of Aurobindo Ghosh and V.O.Chidambaram Pillai who was popularly known as the KappalOttiyaTamilan.
- He was involved in the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company and when Chidambaram Pillai was incarcerated and put in the Coimbatore prison, CKS fought with the authorities and brought to light the sufferings endured by him.
- A grateful V.O.C Pillai named his third son as Subramaniam and his daughter as Meenakshi after the patriotic CKS couple.
- K.S used patriotic songs to carry out his propaganda during those days. He was always enamoured by the magnetic speeches of Bipin Chandra Pal.
- His wife Meenakshi was very supportive and stood shoulder to shoulder with him in the Independence struggle.
Subject : Legislations
Context : FCRA rules: Govt extends validity of registration certificates for NGOs till September 30.
Concept :
- The public notice issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs suggests that this validity extension is applicable to NGOs whose registration certificates have expired/expiring during the period between September 29, 2020 and September 30, 2021.
- The decision has been taken in the wake of petitions filed by NGOs in courts over the delay in implemented amended FCRA.
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment, 2020:
- It seeks to prohibit ‘public servants’ from receiving any foreign funding.
- It proposes to reduce the use of foreign funds to meet administrative costs by NGOs from the existing 50 per cent to 20 per cent.
- It seeks to “prohibit any transfer of foreign contribution to any association/person”.
- It proposes to make Aadhaar cards a mandatory identification document for all office-bearers, directors and other key functionaries of NGOs or associations eligible to receive foreign donations.
- It seeks to allow for the central government to hold a summary inquiry to direct bodies with FCRA approval to “not utilise the unutilised foreign contribution or receive the remaining portion of foreign contribution”.
- And to limit the use of foreign funds for administrative purposes. This would impact research and advocacy organisations which use the funding to meet their administrative costs.
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010:
- Under the Act, organisations require to register themselves every five years.
- As per the amended FCRA rules, all NGOs registered or granted prior permission under FCRA are now required to upload details of foreign contributions received and utilized by them every three months on their website or the FCRA website.
- NGOs now need to file their annual returns online, with the hard copy version dispensed with.
Subject: Science & tech
Context : Having failed to adequately prepare for the second wave of coronavirus infections, officials and health authorities are now routinely warning people of the possibility of a third wave.
Concept:
Waves in Pandemic
- There is no textbook definition of what constitutes a wave in an epidemic. The term is used generically to describe the rising and declining trends of infections over a prolonged period of time.
- The growth curve resembles the shape of a wave. Historically, the term wave used to refer to the seasonality of the disease. Several viral infections are seasonal in nature, and they recur after fixed time intervals.
- Infections rise and then come down, only to rise again after some time.
- Smaller regions within a country, a state or a city, for example, would have their own waves. Delhi, for example, has so far experienced four waves.
Subject: Polity
Context: The West Bengal government will set up a Legislative Council (VidhanParishad), as per a decision taken up at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday.
Concept:
Historical background:
Legislatures with two Houses (bicameral) have a long history in India. The Montagu-Chelmsford reforms led to the formation of the Council of State at the national level in 1919. Then the Government of India Act of 1935 set up bicameral legislatures in Indian provinces. It was under this law that a Legislative Council first started functioning in Bengal in 1937.
Constitutional Position
Abolition or Creation – Article 169
- The Parliament can abolish a legislative council (where it already exists) or create it (where it does not exist) by a simple majority, that is, a majority of the members of each House present and voting, if the legislative assembly of the concerned state, by a special majority, passes a resolution to that effect.
- Special majority implies :
- A majority of the total membership of the assembly and
- A majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the assembly present and voting.
Composition
- Under Article 171 of the Constitution, the Legislative Council of a state shall not have more than one-third of the total strength of the State Assembly, and not less than 40 members.
- Like the Rajya Sabha, the legislative council is a continuing chamber, that is, it is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution. The tenure of a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) is six years, with one-third of the members retiring every two years.
Manner of Election
- One-third of the MLCs are elected by the state’s MLAs,
- Another 1/3rd by a special electorate comprising sitting members of local governments such as municipalities and district boards,
- 1/12th by an electorate of teachers and another 1/12th by registered graduates.
- The remaining members are appointed by the Governor for distinguished services in various fields namely, literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service.
LC vis-à-vis Rajya Sabha
- The legislative power of the Councils is limited. Unlike Rajya Sabha which has substantial powers to shape non-financial legislation, Legislative Councils lack a constitutional mandate to do so.
- Assemblies can override suggestions/amendments made to legislation by the Council.
- Again, unlike Rajya Sabha MPs, MLCs cannot vote in elections for the President and Vice President. The Vice President is the Rajya Sabha Chairperson while a member from the Council itself is chosen as the Council Chairperson.
Subject : Economy
Context : The price of the famously volatile digital currency fell nearly 30% at one point after the China Banking Association warned member banks of the risks associated with digital currencies. The decline narrowed to below 10% in the afternoon, but Bitcoin had still lost about $70 billion in market value in 24 hours.
Concept :
- A cryptocurrency or crypto, is a virtual currency secured by cryptography. It is designed to work as a medium of exchange, where individual ownership records are stored in a computerised database.
- The defining trait of a cryptocurrency is that they are not issued by the government agency of any country making them immune against any interference and manipulation from them.
As per computer experts, any system that falls under the category of cryptocurrency must meet the following requirements.:
- Absence of any centralised authority and is maintained through distributed networks
- The system maintains records of cryptocurrency units and who owns them
- The system decides whether new units can be created and in case it does, decided the origin and the ownership terms
- Ownership of cryptocurrency units can be proved exclusively cryptographically.
- The system allows transactions to be performed in which ownership of the cryptographic units is changed.
Types of Cryptocurrency
- The first type of crypto currency was Bitcoin, which to this day remains the most-used, valuable and popular. Along with Bitcoin, other alternative cryptocurrencies with varying degrees of functions and specifications have been created. Some are iterations of bitcoin while others have been created from the ground up
- Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by an individual or group known by the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto. As of March 2021, there were over 18.6 million bitcoins in circulation with a total market cap of around $927 billion.
The competing cryptocurrencies that were created as a result of Bitcoin’s success are known as altcoins. Some of the well known altcoins are as follows:
- Litecoin
- Peercoin
- Namecoin
- Ethereum
- Cardana
Subject : Science & tech
Context :E-way bill integrated with FasTag, RFID; GST authorities to get real-time data of commercial vehicles.
Concept :
- The FASTag is a reloadable tag that allows automatic deduction of toll without having to stop for carrying out the cash transaction.
- The tag uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and is fixed on the windscreen of the vehicle once active.
- The tag is valid for five years and comes in seven different colours — violet, orange, yellow, green, pink, blue, black. Each colour is assigned to a particular category of vehicles.
- It was rolled out in April 2016, and the Government made it mandatory from December 1, 2017 for all new cars and trucks to be fitted with a FASTag before they were sold.
- To encourage the use of FASTags, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) refunds 5% of the total monthly transactions.
- Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) (a company incorporated by National Highways Authority of India) and National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) are implementing this program.
- FASTag is presently operational at both, national and state highways.
Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)
- Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is the use of radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag attached to an object.
- A tag can be read from up to several feet away and does not need to be within direct line-of-sight of the reader to be tracked.
10. UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES
Subject : Environment
Context : Six sites have been added to India’s tentative list of UNESCO world heritage site
Concept :
- Six of the nine sites submitted by the Archaeological Survey of India had been accepted by UNESCO for inclusion in the tentative list, which is a requirement before the final nomination of any site.
- The recently-included proposals are ,
Maratha military architecture in Maharashtra,
Hire Bengal megalithic site in Karnataka,
Bhedaghat-Lametaghat of Narmada Valley in Madhya Pradesh.
Ganga ghats in Varanasi,
Temples of Kancheepuram and
Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
- These proposals will remain in tentative list for a year after which the government will decide which one of them to push for in their final dossier to UNESCO, officials said.
- With the addition of these six sites, the UNESCO has 48 proposals in tentative list of India.
- As per Operational Guidelines, 2019, it is mandatory to put any monument/site on the Tentative List (TL) before it is considered for the final nomination dossier.
- India has 48 sites in the TL as of now.
- As per rules, any country can submit the nomination dossier after one year of it being on the TL.
Subject : Economy
Context : The Finance Ministry has granted ‘Infrastructure’ status for exhibition and convention centres, a move that is expected to ease bank financing for such projects.
Concept :
- ‘Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre is included in the Harmonised Master List of Infrastructure sub-sectors by insertion of a new item in the category of Social and Commercial Infrastructure,’ the Department of Economic Affairs said.
- However, the benefits would only be available for projects with a minimum built-up floor area of 1,00,000 sq. m. of exclusive exhibition space or convention space or both combined.
- As of now, the major projects under way in the sector are backed by the government – the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centres at Dwarka and PragatiMaidan in the capital.
- The infrastructure tag does not involve significant tax breaks but would help such projects get easier financing from banks, said experts. However, restrictions on size may be a dampener.
- India doesn’t have large convention centres or single halls with capacities to hold 7,000 to 10,000 people, unlike countries like Thailand that is a major global MICE destination.
- Becoming a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) destination can generate significant revenue with several global firms active in India but it will take time to become a preferred destination.
- Last August, the government had granted infrastructure status to affordable rental housing projects.
Subject : Current Events
Context : Recently, the ‘Medicines from Sky’ project has received a shot in the arm, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Director General of Civil Aviation according a conditional nod to the Telangana government for deployment of drones for delivery of Covid-19 vaccines.
Concept :
Medicines from Sky Project
- The Telangana government, World Economic Forum and HealthNet Global, had signed a collaboration agreement for the ‘Medicine from the Sky’ project.
- A feasibility study is being planned to study drone-based delivery of blood, vaccines, medical samples and long tail medicine.
- The Central government, in exercise of powers conferred by Rule 70 of the UAS Rules, 2021, has granted conditional exemption to Telangana for the purpose of trying out drones for delivery.
- The consortiums shortlisted by Telangana will be able to start trials on ground to build a safety case for regulators for considering the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) range.
Key Highlights
- The permission has been granted for conducting experimental delivery of Covid-19 vaccines within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) Range.
- The permission exemption is valid for one year or until further orders, subject to the conditions laid out.
- It is proposed to take up BVLOS flights in Vikarabad district of Telangana with the Area Hospital as the take-off site and various PHCs and sub-centres as the landing sites.
- The programme will be for 24 days, where the eight selected consortia would be divided into four batches of two consortia, and each batch would perform the sorties for 6 days.
Subject : Governance
Context :Recently, the Association for Democratic Reforms has filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking formation of a “neutral and independent collegium or selection committee” for the appointment of members of the Election Commission.
Concept :
- The petition cited the 255th Law Commission Report which recommended that the appointment of Election Commission members should be made by the President.
- The president shall consult with a three-member collegium or selection committee, consisting of the prime minister, the leader of Opposition of the Lok Sabha and the chief justice of India.
- Dinesh Goswami Committee in its Report of May 1990 recommended for the effective consultation with neutral authorities like Chief Justice of India.
- The 4th Report of the Second Administrative Reform Commission also recommended for the constitution of a neutral and independent collegium:
- It should be headed by the Prime Minister with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Law Minister and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha as is members.
- Justice Tarkunde Committee in its Report of 1975 recommended that the members of Election Commission should be appointed by the President on the advice of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.
Current procedure for appointments in Election Commission of India
- The Election Commission shall consist of the chief election commissioner and such number of other election commissioners, if any, as the president may from time to time fix.
- The appointment of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners shall be made by the president.
- When any other election commissioner is so appointed, the chief election commissioner shall act as the chairman of the election commission.
- The president may also appoint after consultation with the election commission such regional commissioners as he may consider necessary to assist the election commission.
Subject : Science & tech
Context : Recently, China has launched a Long March-4B rocket carrying the Haiyang-2D (HY-2D) satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.
Concept :
- China has independently developed and launched seven Haiyang satellites.
- It is named after the Chinese word for “ocean” and given the “HY” designation for short.
- The country launched its first ocean monitoring satellite, the HY-1A, on May 15, 2002.
About Haiyang-2D (HY-2D) satellite
- It was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, while the carrier rocket was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology.
- It will form a constellation with the HY-2B and HY-2C satellites to build an all-weather and round-the-clock dynamic ocean environment monitoring system.
- The constellation will support the country’s early warning and prediction of marine disasters, its sustainable development and utilization of ocean resources.
- It will help in effective response to global climate change as well as ocean research.
- The onboard equipment enables the new satellite to provide information on the identification of vessels, and to receive, store and transmit buoy measurement data in China’s offshore and other marine areas.
- The planned satellite network will be capable of carrying out 80 percent of the world’s sea surface wind monitoring within six hours.
- The follow-up network of HY-2 satellites will provide data support for marine disaster relief, meteorology, transportation and scientific applications.