Daily Prelims Notes 21 September 2020

September 21, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: History

Context:

A temple constructed by emperor Ganapati Deva, a ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty, in Dharanikota near present Andhra Pradesh capital Amaravati, has been converted into an abode of local goddess Balusulamma (Goddess Durga).

Concept:

The 12th and the 13th centuries saw the emergence of the Kakatiyas. They were at first the feudatories of the Western Chalukyas of Kalyana, ruling over a small territory near Warangal
The Kakatiyas are known through their famous architecture such as Fort Warangal, the Ramappa Temple, the Thousand Pillar Temple, and so on.
A ruler of this dynasty, Prola II, who ruled from 1110 AD to 1158 AD, extended his sway to the south and declared his independence.
His successor Rudra (1158 – 1195 AD) pushed the kingdom to the north up to the Godavari delta. He built a fort at Warangal to serve as a second capital and faced the invasions of the Yadavas of Devagiri.
The next ruler Mahadeva extended the kingdom to the coastal area.
In 1199 AD, Ganapati succeeded him. He was the greatest of the Kakatiyas and the first after the Satavahanas to bring the entire Telugu area under one rule. He put an end to the rule of the Velanati Cholas in 1210 AD. He forced the Telugu Cholas of Vikramasimhapura to accept his suzerainty. He established order in his vast dominion and encouraged trade.
As Ganapati Deva had no sons, his daughter Rudramba succeeded him in 1262 AD and carried on the administration. Some generals, who did not like to be ruled by her, rebelled. She could, however, suppress the internal rebellions and external invasions with the help of loyal subordinates. The Cholas and the Yadavas suffered such set backs at her hands that they did not think of troubling her for the rest of her rule.
Prataparudra succeeded his grandmother Rudramba in 1295 AD and ruled till 1323 AD. He pushed the western border of his kingdom up to Raichur. He introduced many administrative reforms. He divided the kingdom into 75 Nayakships, which was later adopted and developed by the Rayas of Vijayanagara.
In his time the territory constituting Andhra Pradesh had the first experience of a Muslim invasion. In 1303 AD, the Delhi Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji sent an army to plunder the kingdom, but Prataparudra defeated them at Upparapalli in Karimnagar district.
In 1310 AD, when another army under Malik Kafur invaded Warangal, Prataparudra yielded and agreed to pay a large tribute.
In 1318 AD when Ala-ud-din Khilji died, Prataparudra withheld the tribute. It provoked another invasion of the Muslims. In 1321 AD Ghiaz-ud-din Tughlaq sent a large army under Ulugh Khan to conquer the Telugu country. He laid siege to Warangal, but owing to internal dissensions he called off the siege and returned to Delhi. Within a short period, he came back with a much bigger army. In spite of unpreparedness, Prataparudra fought bravely. For want of supplies, he surrendered to the enemy who sent him to Delhi as a prisoner, and he died on the way.
Thus ended the Kakatiya rule, opening the gates of the Telugu land to anarchy and confusion yielding place to an alien ruler.

2. Deputy chairman removal

Subject: Polity

Context:

Twelve opposition parties gave notice for a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, accusing him of violating the parliamentary procedures in trying to pass the farm sector Bills in haste, circumventing all demands for proper voting.

Concept:

Rajya Sabha elects a Deputy Chairman to perform the functions of the Chairman in case of a vacancy in the office of the Chairman or when the Vice-President is acting as or discharging the functions of the President.
Article 90 deals with “vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the office of Deputy Chairman a member holding office as Deputy Chairman of the Council of States”.
A member holding office as Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all the then members of the Rajya Sabha; but the resolution can be moved only when at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention of moving

3. Universal eligibility

Subject: Economy

Context:

No preference for ‘Make in India’ in World Bank project to curb coronavirus

Concept:

The $1 billion World Bank loan to prevent, detect and respond to the threat of coronavirus and strengthen national health systems for preparedness as India combats the ongoing pandemic comes with a condition of “universal eligibility” in procurements.
This would mean that all preferential market access policies, including Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order, Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Policy, certain benefits to start-ups, shall not be applicable on purchases made while implementing the national project.

4. National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction

Subject: Schemes

Context:

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated and is implementing a National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-2025. This information was given by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Rattan Lal Kataria in a written reply in Lok Sabha

Concept:

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has prepared a National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) so as to focus on preventive education, awareness generation, identification, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation of drug dependent persons and training and capacity building of the service providers through collaborative efforts of the Central and State Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations.
Article 47 of the Constitution provides that “The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, the State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.”
India is a signatory to the three UN Conventions namely, Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971 and Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988.
The Government of India has enacted the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the year 1985 to make stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

Objectives of NAPDDR

Create awareness and educate people about the ill-effects of drugs abuse on the individual, family, workplace and the society at large and reduce stigmatization of and discrimination against, groups and individuals dependent on drugs in order to integrate them back into the society;
Develop human resources and build capacity for working towards these objectives;
Facilitate research, training, documentation, innovation and collection of relevant information to strengthen the above mentioned objectives;
Provide for a whole range of community based services for the identification, motivation, counselling, de-addiction, after care and rehabilitation for Whole Person Recovery (WPR) of addicts;
Formulate and implement comprehensive guidelines, schemes, and programmes using a multiagency approach for drug demand reduction;
Undertake drug demand reduction efforts to address all forms of drug abuse;
Alleviate the consequences of drug dependence amongst individuals, family and society at large
Components admissible for financial assistance

The following components are admissible for financial assistance under the NAPDDR:

Preventive Education and Awareness Generation
Capacity Building
Treatment and Rehabilitation
Setting quality standards
Focussed Intervention in vulnerable areas
Skill development, vocational training and livelihood support of ex-drug addicts
Survey, Studies, Evaluation, Research and Innovation on the subjects covered under the Scheme.
Programmes for Drug Demand Reduction by States/UTs

5. Company Law Committee

Subject: Economy

Context:

The Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) has extended by one year the term of the existing Company Law Committee (CLC)

Concept:

It was set up to promote Ease of Living in the country by providing Ease of Doing Business to law abiding corporates and fostering improved corporate compliance for stakeholders at large.
The tenure of the CLC has been extended up to September 17, 2021
MCA had on September 18 last year set up the 11-member CLC under the Chairmanship of MCA Secretary for making recommendations to the Government on various provisions and issues pertaining to implementation of the Companies Act 2013 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008.
CLC had over the last one year worked towards decriminalising the Companies Act 2013 with a view to ensure Ease of Doing Business. Now the CLC during its extended term will look to do that for limited liability partnerships (LLPs) as well, Chopra said.
Over the last few years, the Government has been focusing on improving the Ease of Doing business in the country and even taken steps to amend the company law to re-categorise certain offences under the company law into ‘civil wrongs’ and de-clog the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The CLC set up last year was also tasked to propose measures to further declog and improve the functioning of the NCLT. It was also asked to suggest measures for removing any bottlenecks in the overall functioning of the statutory bodies like SFIO, IEPFA and NFRA.

6. Select Committee

Subject: Polity

Context:

Government pushed through two crucial agriculture Bills in Rajya Sabha, rejecting Opposition demands that they be referred to a Select Committee of Rajya Sabha.

Concept:

India’s Parliament has multiple types of committees. They can be differentiated on the basis of their work, their membership and the length of their tenure.
First are committees that examine bills, budgets and policies of ministries. These are called departmentally related Standing Committees. There are 24 such committees and between them, they focus on the working of different ministries. Each committee has 31 MPs, 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
Then there are committees constituted for a specific purpose, with MPs from both Houses. The specific purpose could be detailed scrutiny of a subject matter or a Bill. These are Joint Parliamentary Committees (JPC). In 2011 the issue of telecom licences and spectrum was examined by a JPC headed by Congress MP P C Chacko. In 2016, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was sent to a JPC chaired by BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal.
And finally, there is a Select Committee on a Bill. This is formed for examining a particular Bill and its membership is limited to MPs from one House. Last year Rajya Sabha referred the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 to a Select Committee of 23 of its MPs from different parties. Since both the JPCs and Select Committees are constituted for a specific purpose, they are disbanded after their report. Both these types of committees are chaired by MPs from the ruling party.

7. Banks Board Bureau

Subject: Economy

Context:

The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has recommended to the government names of 13 general managers of various public sector banks (PSBs) for appointment as executive directors.

Concept:

The Bureau started functioning from April 01, 2016 as an autonomous recommendatory body.
It is tasked to improve the governance of Public Sector Banks, recommend selection of chiefs of government-owned banks and financial institutions and to help banks in developing strategies and capital raising plans
It will have three ex-officio members and three expert members in addition to Chairman
It is part of Mission Indradhanush for PSBs
The BBB separates the functioning of the PSBs from the government by acting as a middleman.

8. Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) and SAR

Subject: IR

Context:

Swiss Leaks, Panama Papers, now SARs are bank reports that alert law-enforcement agencies

Concept:

The FinCEN Files refer to a set of over 2,100 “Suspicious Activity Reports” (SARs) filed by banks with the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network, the agency that serves as the leading global regulator in the battle against money laundering.
The files identify at least $2 trillion in transactions between 1999 and 2017 flagged as possible evidence of money laundering or other criminal activity by compliance officers of banks and financial institutions.
SAR or Suspicious Activity Report is a document filed by banks and financial institutions to report suspicious activity to US authorities, in this case, FinCEN. These are confidential, so secret that banks are not allowed to confirm their existence. Indeed, even the account holder is unaware when an SAR is filed related to a transaction in that account.
A SAR is not an accusation, it is a way to alert regulators and law enforcement to possible irregular activity and crimes.

Financial Intelligence Unit-India

Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) performs the same functions as FinCEN in the US.
Under the Finance Ministry, this was set up in 2004 as the nodal agency for receiving, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.
The agency is authorised to obtain cash transaction reports (CTRs) and suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and cross border wire transfer reports from private and public sector banks every month under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
It is mandatory for banks in India to furnish a monthly CTR to the FIU on all transactions over Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency or a series of integrally connected transactions that add up to more than Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency.
The STRs and CTRs are analysed by FIU and suspicious or doubtful transactions are shared with agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Income Tax for the purpose of launching probes to check possible instances of money laundering, tax evasion and terror financing.

9. Speaker role and adjournment

Subject: Polity

Context:

Lok Sabha Speaker obliged to demand for adjournment of the House. The request was made as several Opposition members were on a sit-in protest in Rajya Sabha, which would have meant that MPs allocated seats there on account of social distancing protocol would not have been able to take their places.

Concept:

The Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha from amongst its members (as soon asmay be, after its first sitting).
Whenever the office of the Speaker falls vacant, the Lok Sabha electsanother member to fill the vacancy. The date of election of the Speaker is fixed by the President.
Usually, the Speaker remains in office during the life of the Lok Sabha. However, he has to vacate his office earlier in any of the following three cases:
- if he ceases to be a member of the Lok Sabha;
- if he resigns by writing to the Deputy Speaker; and
- if he is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the Lok Sabha.Such a resolution can be moved only after giving 14 days advance notice.
When a resolution for the removal of the Speaker is under consideration of the House, he cannotpreside at the sitting of the House, though he may be present. However, he can speak and take part inthe proceedings of the House at such a time and vote in the first instance, though not in the case of anequality of votes.
It should be noted here that, whenever the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the Speaker does not vacate hisoffice and continues till the newly- elected Lok Sabha meets.
The Speaker is the head of the Lok Sabha, and its representative. He is the guardian of powers and privileges of the members, the House as a whole and its committees. He is the principal spokesman of the House, and his decision in all Parliamentary matters is final. He is thus much more than merely the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha derives his powers and duties from three sources, that is, the Constitution of India, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha, and Parliamentary Conventions (residuary powers that are unwritten or unspecified in the Rules).
Altogether, he has the following powers and duties:
- He maintains order and decorum in the House for conducting its business and regulating its proceedings. This is his primary responsibility and he has final power in this regard.
- He is the final interpreter of the provisions of (a) the Constitution of India, (b) the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha, and (c) the parliamentary precedents, within the House.
- He adjourns the House or suspends the meeting in absence of a quorum. The quorum to constitute a meeting of the House is one-tenth of the total strength of the House
- He does not vote in the first instance. But he can exercise a casting vote in the case of a tie. In other words, only when the House is divided equally on any question, the Speaker is entitled to vote. Such vote is called casting vote, and its purpose is to resolve a deadlock.
- He presides over a joint setting of the two Houses of Parliament. Such a sitting is summoned by the President to settle a deadlock between the two Houses on a bill.
- He can allow a ‘secret’ sitting of the House at the request of the Leader of the House. When the House sits in secret, no stranger can be present in the chamber, lobby or galleries except with the permission of the Speaker.
- He decides whether a bill is a money bill or not and his decision on this question is final. When a money bill is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for recommendation and presented to the President for assent, the Speaker endorses on the bill his certificate that it is a money bill.
- He decides the questions of disqualification of a member of the Lok Sabha, arising on the ground of defection under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule. In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that the decision of the Speaker in this regard is subject to judicial review.
- He acts as the ex-officio chairman of the Indian Parliamentary Group of the Inter- Parliamentary Union. He also acts as the ex-officio chairman of the conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies in the country.
- He appoints the chairman of all the parliamentary committees of the Lok Sabha and supervises their functioning. He himself is the chairman of the Business Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee and the General Purpose Committee.

10. Voice Vote and division

Subject: Polity

Context:

Rajya Sabha passes two farm bills by voice vote amid opposition protests

Concept:

Both the concepts of a voice vote as well as a division have been borrowed from the Parliament of the United Kingdom and were already in use in legislatures in British India.
A voice vote involves the speaker putting a question to the house and then asking the house to put forward its opinion in the forms of ayes (yes) or noes. Based on a rough measure of which side was louder, the speaker decides if the motion was passed or fell through.
The obvious advantage of a voice vote is that it is quick. The apparent disadvantage is that it is inaccurate, given that the speakers decides what the opinion of the house is based on which side is louder. A literal shouting match is not the ideal way to conduct any serious business other than in cases where voting is so one sided, it is basically a formality.
Due to this, parliamentary procedure requires that if a voice vote is challenged by any member, the speaker must ask for a division.
This once involved the physical separation of legislators and then a counting of heads – a procedure still followed in the UK. But nowadays in India, this is achieved by getting MPs and MLAs to vote electronically.
The advantage of a division, of course, is that it tells the public exactly what the vote count is. Moreover, it lets constituents know how their MP or MLA voted.

11. SEZ

Subject: Economy

Context:

Centre to consider plan for five-year extension for Plastic recycling units in SEZ

Concept:

India was one of the first in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965.
With a view to overcome the shortcomings experienced on account of the multiplicity of controls and clearances; absence of world-class infrastructure, and an unstable fiscal regime and with a view to attract larger foreign investments in India, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy was announced in April 2000.
This policy intended to make SEZs an engine for economic growth supported by quality infrastructure complemented by an attractive fiscal package, both at the Centre and the State level, with the minimum possible regulations.
SEZs in India functioned from 1.11.2000 to 09.02.2006 under the provisions of the Foreign Trade Policy and fiscal incentives were made effective through the provisions of relevant statutes.
To instill confidence in investors and signal the Government’s commitment to a stable SEZ policy regime and with a view to impart stability to the SEZ regime thereby generating greater economic activity and employment through the establishment of SEZs, Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, was passed by Parliament in May, 2005
The main objectives of the SEZ Act are:
- generation of additional economic activity
- promotion of exports of goods and services
- promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources
- creation of employment opportunities
- development of infrastructure facilities
It is expected that this will trigger a large flow of foreign and domestic investment in SEZs, in infrastructure and productive capacity, leading to generation of additional economic activity and creation of employment opportunities.

12. GST Quorum

Subject: Economy

Context:

The Centre gave an ultimatum to States and Union Territories (UTs) that those that do not submit their borrowing option to meet the GST compensation shortfall by October 5 will have to wait till June 2022 to get their dues. And, even too that would be conditional.

Concept:

To address a shortfall in GST compensation this fiscal, the GST Council, at its meet on August 27, gave 28 States and two UTs with Assemblies (Delhi and Puducherry) two borrowing options.
Option 1 prescribes borrowing ₹97,000 crore (the shortfall on account of GST implementation issues) through a special window. The principal and interest for such borrowing would be repaid through realisation of the compensation cess in due course.
Option 2 involves borrowing ₹2.35-lakh-crore from the open market. Here, the principal will be repaid through realisation of the compensation cess, but the States and UTs will have to bear the interest cost.
In case there is no consensus on the borrowing option and any State/UT presses for a vote, the decision may swing in the Centre’s favour.
Of the total votes, States and UTs together have 66.6 per cent weightage, while the Centre has 33.3 per cent.
For any decision to be cleared, at least 75 per cent of the weighted votes is required.
Each State and UT has a voting weightage of 2.22 per cent. If 19 States and two UTs support borrowing, it would add up to 46.62 per cent. Combined with the Centre’s weightage, it will rise to 79.92, comfortably beyond the required threshold.