Daily Prelims Notes 21 February 2021

February 21, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

21 February 2021

By

Santosh Sir

All 6 Prelims qualified

4 CSE Mains qualified

If I can do it, you can too

Table Of Contents

1. Governing council of Niti Aayog

Subject: Polity

Context: The 6th meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog was held yesterday.

Concept:

PM’s focus in meeting

Making India a manufacturing house
Re-imagining agriculture
Improving physical infrastructure
Accelerating human resource development
Improving service delivery at the grassroot level
Health and nutrition

About Governing Council of Niti Aayog

The Governing Council presents a platform to discuss inter-sectoral, inter-departmental and federal issues. It comprises the Prime Minister (chairperson), Chief Ministers of States and Union Territories (UTs), with Legislatures and Lt Governors of other UTs. It also includes Ex officio Members of the NITI Aayog, Vice-Chairperson and Full-time Members of NITI Aayog.
The special invitee of the Niti Aayog is also special invitee of the governing council.
The council was reconstituted for the entry of Ladakh for the first time, in addition to the participation of Jammu and Kashmir as a UT.
It presents one of the biggest platforms to promote cooperative federalism in India.

2. Other Potential areas of disengagement Post-Pangong Tso disengagement between India-China

Subject: Security

Context: The corps commander level talks on Saturday discussed pullback of troops from the friction points at Hot Springs, Gogra Post and Depsang Plains in Ladakh following completion of disengagement and restoration of status quo ante on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso.

Concept:

Currently the position of disengagement is: On the north bank of Pangong TSO, China has pulled its troops east of Finger 8 (which India says marks the LAC) and India is holding its position behind Finger 3 at the Dhan Singh Thapa post.
After disengagement in Pangong TSO area the corps commander level sat for next round of disengagement at Moldo border point facing Chushul.
It is a significant effort to diffuse 9-month long stand-off and differences.
In Hot Springs and Gogra Post areas, Chinese and Indian troops are still in a faceoff, nine months after the military standoff began in May 2020
In the Depsang Plains Chinese troops have been blocking Indian soldiers at a place called the Bottleneck, preventing them from accessing their traditional patrolling points PP10, PP11, PP11A, PP12 and PP13.
Depsang Plains is close to the strategic Indian base at Daulat Beg Oldie (historic trade route between Ladakh and Central Asia, It also has one of the world’s highest airstrips), near the Karakoram Pass.

3. Draft National Policy on migrant labour

Subject: Policies of government

Context: Based on a request from the labour ministry the Niti Aayog released first Draft National Policy on migrant labor yesterday.

Concept:

According to the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Labour and Employment in Parliament last year 10 million labourers went back of home due to migrant crisis last year.
Demands from states, experts and civil society has led to Niti Aayog formulating a draft National migrant labour policy which is in public domain now.

Proposals under the policy

the draft policy calls for a “rights-based” approach that taps the migrants’ potential rather than hand-outs and cash-transfers.
Mechanisms to “enable voting” to ensure the political inclusion of migrant workers so they can demand their entitlements and fix political accountability
Setting up inter-state coordination mechanisms to cover the nation’s key migration corridors: Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai; Bihar and Delhi; Western Odisha and Andhra Pradesh; Rajasthan and Gujarat, and Odisha and Gujarat
Ministry of Labour to set up a special unit on migration
Embedding a migration wing in each state’s labour department and source states to send nodal officers to destination states to work collectively with the labour officers
Getting source states and destination states to work with each other
Government policies should not hinder but seek to facilitate internal migration.
Migrants should be the target of Disaster Risk Reduction (DDR) programmers in urban centres.
Access to health and other social protection programmes should be portable across state borders.
Skill mapping using Aadhaar to avail of social security schemes, psycho-social assistance through a national helpline.
Tribal department to have one inspector at the block level and Labour one at the district level.

Some causes identified by the Niti Aayog group with respect to Migrant crisis:

Fragmented labour market obscures supply chains and relationships between business owners and workers
The existing gap in the unionization of migrant workers is also an important reason for the precarious nature of their employment
Government policies at times does not facilitate internal migration rather act as a hindrance
States have limited engagement with migrants. For example, in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, anti-trafficking units focused on minor women have suffered with inadequate staff and poor supervision of migration trends
Concerns in schemes Ex- MNREGA and State Rural Livelihood Mission are meant to check out-migration by tribals but that hasn’t quite happened as tribals are not “actively included” in skill development schemes and were not able to access them because of “lack of awareness and tedious paper work and processes

4. Credit deposit Ratio

Subject: Economy

Context: At Niti Aayog’s governing council meet the Bihar CM requested the Centre to take steps to improve credit deposit ratio of the state.

Concept:

It is only 36.1 per cent in Bihar against the national average of the 76.5% (with some states having 100% Credit deposit ratio).
People deposited Rs 3.75 lakh crore in Bihar but banks extended loans up to Rs 1.35 lakh crore to its people.

About Credit Deposit Ratio

The CD ratio is the ratio of a bank’s total loans and total deposits.
Low credit to deposit ratio is an indicator of excess liquidity because of higher deposits with the banking system and the lack of alternatives in credit markets.
Under Reserve Bank of India rules, banks have to set aside 3% of deposits as cash reserve ratio (CRR) and another 18% in statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) compliant holdings. The rest, along with other resources, can be used for lending.

5. Coastal road in Mumbai

Subject: Economy

Context: Mumbai coast is seeing launch of an ambitious coastal road project in the coastal region.

Concept:

The work is on an infrastructure project on the Mumbai coast — a 10-km stretch of the Coastal Road, which, with its undersea tunnel and road built on reclaimed land.
It will cut down travel time in one of the most congested cities in the world.
It starts from the Marine Drive promenade to the Worli-end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and is part of the larger Mumbai Coastal Road Project that is proposed to link Marine Drive to Kandivali
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is funding the project.
It will be India’s first undersea road tunnel (road will run a kilometer or so under the sea, through a set of twin tunnels).
However, the impact the road and its construction will have on marine life and livelihoods of fishing communities along the coast is also need to be watched out for.

6. Munich security Conference

Subject: International events

Context: The security conference was held yesterday virtually with the USA president announcing close cooperation with Trans-Atlantic alliance revival soon.

Concept:

It is an annual conference on the international security policy that takes place in Munich, Germany since 1963.
It is an independent venue for policymakers and experts for open and constructive discussions about the most pressing security issues of the day and of the future.
In this summit the USA president said it was ready to rejoin talks about reentering Iran nuclear deal and focus on Trans-Atlantic coalition which was under pressure under Trump.
MSC publishes the Munich Security Report, an annual digest of relevant figures, maps, and research on crucial security challenges.

7. High-Security Registration Plates (HSRP)

Subject: Economy

Context: Karnataka is going to make the installation of High-Security Registration Plates (HSRP) mandatory for all vehicles.

Concept:

The vehicles prior to 2 year will need to replace the number plate.
The owners will have to pay to replace the number plates
The rule for installing HSRPs is already applicable for vehicles registered after April 1, 2019

About HSRP

It is made up of made up aluminium and are affixed using at least two non-reusable snap-on locks.
The plate comprises hot-stamped chromium-based 20 mm X 20 mm hologram of Ashoka Chakra in blue colour on the top left corner.
At the bottom left corner is a 10-digit permanent identification number (PIN) that is laser branded on the reflective sheeting.
It also includes a hot stamped film applied on the numerals and letters bearing the inscription “INDIA” at a 45-degree angle.
Once affixed, the unique high security registration plate is electronically linked to the vehicle.

Benefits of HSRP

Old number plates are very easy to tamper with and can be changed quite easily. HSRP’s come with non-removable snap-on locks and are difficult to replace.
Preventing counterfeiting of high security registration plates: It is affixed by automobile dealers and private vendors approved by the state authorities. These plates are issued only after the vehicle owner provides with information like engine number, chassis number, etc.
Easier identification of stolen vehicle with the help of 10-digit pin.
HSRPs have a uniform pattern of displaying motor vehicle registration number, therefore addressing the issue of ‘incomprehensible’ vehicle registration plates

8. Once the wettest place on earth seeing decreasing trend in rainfall

Subject: Geography

Context: A recent study paper published in Environmental Research Letterlooked at the trend of rainfalls in Cherrapunji (Meghalaya) over last 119 years and saw decreasing trend of about 0.42 mm per decade.

Concept:

Mawsynram overtook Cherrapunji few years back as wettest place and receives over 10,000 millimeters of rain in a year.
The focus of the study on north-east is because the Northeast India has the highest vegetation cover in India and includes 18 biodiversity hotspots of the world, indicating the importance of the region in terms of its greenery and climate-change sensitivity

Causes of declining trend

Changes in the Indian Ocean temperature
Human interference: Reduction in the vegetation area in northeast India in the past two decades. Study noted decrease in vegetation cover and increase in the areas of cropland mainly from the year 2006 onwards and increase in urban and built-up lands during 2001-08 period.
Team noted northeast India is mostly hilly and is an extension of the Indo-Gangetic Plains, the region is highly sensitive to changes in regional and global climate.

Steps suggested:

Conserve the vegetation or forest area, biodiversity parks, the hills and valleys in the northeast
Solid water management strategies to combat climate-induced changes of water bodies and ground water.
Long-term plans are necessary to combat declining trend

9. Mandu festival

Subject: Arts and Culture

Context: The three-day Mandu Festival was recently held at Mandu in the historic town of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh yesterday.

Concept:

The three-day festival had live concerts, adventure sports, cycling expeditions and much more. It will have Local art, craft and cuisine as well.

About Mandu

It is located in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh and reflects prominently Afghan architecture surrounded by baobab trees, native to Africa. Ex- Hoshang Shah’s Tomb is said to be India’s first marble structure and one of the best examples of Afghan architecture. It is truly Islamic in architecture with a beautifully proportioned dome, intricate marble lattice work and porticoed courts and towers. The Hoshang Shah’s tomb may have been used as a template for building the Taj Mahal.
It is also famous for Malwa style of architecture.
The architecture of Mandu is described as an example of Indian functionalism. It generally lacks the expression and decoration.
Darwazas: Mandu is the largest fortified city of medieval India. The wall encompassing Mandu has 12 major gates or darwazas.
Hindola Mahal or Swing palace which has sloping sidewalls.
Jahaz Mahal is located between two artificial lakes. It was built by Ghiyas-ud-din-Khilji, and it served as a harem for the sultan, with a reportedly aggregation of 15000 ladies inside.
Rani Roopmati’sPavillion, Baz Bahadur’s Palace are other important monuments.

10. Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP)

Subject: National and International organisations

Context: CDDEP has estimated the cost of ensuring WASH and taking related steps for infection prevention and control for one year in healthcare facilities in all of India.

Concept:

Improving WASH across the pubic healthcare facilities in India and maintaining this for a year would cost $354 million (Rs 2567,00,00,000 approximately) in capital costs and $289 million (Rs 2095,00,00,000 approximately) in recurrent expenses.
It is a public health research organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C. and New Delhi.
Its mission is “to produce independent, multidisciplinary research to advance the health and well-being of human populations in the United States and around the world.”
It includes economists, epidemiologists, disease modelers, policy and risk analysts carry out research on malaria, antibiotic resistance, disease control priorities, environmental health, alcohol and tobacco, and various other diseases.
Research is divided across four areas: disease dynamics and behavior, disease dynamics and information structure, delivery of new technologies for disease control, and innovative financing.
It’s two significant initiatives are also related with the Anti-microbial resistance.

11. Common and Pintail Snipe

Subject: Environment

Context: During the migration season bird watcher faces a challenge in identifying common and pintail snipe.

Concept:

According to eBird platform, Common Snipe and Pinatail Snipe make it to the list of difficult birds to identify.
During the migratory season, the Common Snipe and the Pintail Snipe occur in Chennai. They can sometimes be difficult to be told apart, unless they are seen in flight and their underwings are exposed
The Pintail Snipe has an evenly barred pattern on the underwing, whereas the Common Snipe mostly has a white underwing with some pattern but not evenly-patterned. Much the Common Snipe’s underwing is just white
In parts of the country, it is a little clearer. In western and north-western parts, it is almost only Common Snipe. So, the onus is on birders to find a Pintail Snipe. But in the rest of the country, both may occur in almost equal numbers