Daily Prelims Notes 22 April 2021

April 22, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

22 April 2021

Table Of Contents

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi said that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that it will support eight joint research projects mooted by the Space Technology Cell (STC), IIT-Delhi.

Concept :

The ISRO will support eight joint research projects mooted by the Space Technology Cell (STC), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
The projects will be coordinated by ISRO scientists at the Space Applications Centre (SAC), the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), the Semi-conductor Laboratory (SCL) and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

RESPOND Programme of ISRO

Under RESPOND, projects in the advanced areas of relevance to Space programme are encouraged to be taken up by premiere universities/academic institutions.
ISRO helps the academic institutions to establish the necessary technical facilities and also provide fellowships to researchers to work on cutting edge research topics.
ISRO provides financial support to Academic Institutions in India for conducting research and development activities related to Space Science, Space Technology and Space Applications.

2. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) PROGRAMME

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Russia’s space agency said it hoped to launch its own orbital station in 2025 as Moscow considers withdrawing from the International Space Station programme to go it alone.

Concept :

Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said work had begun on the first module of a new station, after officials warned that Russia was considering pulling out of the ISS, one of the few successful examples of cooperation with the West.
The announcement came with tensions soaring with the West.
Launched in 1998 and involving Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan, and the European Space Agency, the ISS is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in human history.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister YuryBorisov said in recent days that Moscow was considering whether to leave the ISS programme from 2025 because of the station’s age. Roscosmos said that a decision on quitting the ISS had not yet been made.
Russia lost its monopoly for manned flights to the ISS last year after the first successful mission of U.S. company Space X.
Despite its much-lauded history — Russia this month marked the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in orbit — the country’s space programme has struggled in recent years as president Putin is more interested in military technology than space exploration.

3. FALLING GAS & OIL PRODUCTION

Subject : Economy

Context : India’s crude oil and natural gas production have been falling consistently since 2011-12 with Covid-19 related delays are among the key reasons cited by producers behind lower production.

Concept :

Reasons for falling oil and gas production

The experts have noted that most of India’s crude oil and natural gas production comes from ageing wells that have become less productive over time.
There was no more easy oil and gas available in India and producers would have to invest in extracting oil and gas using technologically intensive means from more difficult fields such as ultra-deep water fields.
The experts noted that the interest from foreign payers in oil and gas exploration in India had been low.
The crude oil production in India is dominated by two major state-owned exploration and production companies, ONGC and Oil India.

Recommendation of government to increase oil and gas production

The government has asked ONGC to boost its investments in explorations and increase tie-ups with foreign players to provide technological support in extracting oil and gas from difficult oil and gas fields.
The government may consider providing fiscal incentives to attract foreign players to India’s upstream sector.
The boost in oil and gas production has also been a key part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative and its goal to boost the use of natural gas in India’s primary energy mix from the current 6.2 per cent to 15 per cent by 2030.

Impact of low oil and gas production

The low domestic production of crude oil and natural gas makes India more reliant on imports.
It increases the India’s Current Account Deficit as well as Fiscal deficit due to heavy dependence on imports.
The share of imports as a proportion of overall crude oil consumption in India has risen from 81.8 per cent in FY2012 to 87.6 per cent in FY2020.

4. TYRANNOSAURUS REX

Subject : Environment

Context : Recently, a study by paleontologists from the Netherlands have published a report that Tyrannosaurus had a preferred walking speed of just 5 kmph which is about the same as the average walking speed of humans.

Concept :

About Tyrannosaurus Rex

It is considered the most fearsome eating machine to have evolved on Earth.
It lived toward the end of the Cretaceous period, around 66 million to 68 million years ago.
It is believed that an adult member of the species stood 12 feet tall and 40 feet long, and weighed between 5,000 to 7,000 kg.
The dinosaur inhabited what is today’s western United States and it was not found in India.
The fiercest of all Indian dinosaurs was probably the Rajasaurusnarmadensis, followed by another specimen of the Abelisauridae family, the Indosuchusraptorius.
The habitat of the T. Rex could have extended from as far as Alaska in North America up until Mexico in the south.

5. EARTH DAY 2021

Subject : Environment

Context : Recently, the Earth Day is being celebrated around the world on April 22nd to pledge support for environmental protection.

Concept :

Earth Day was first observed in 1970, when 20 million took to the streets to protest against environmental degradation.
The event was triggered by the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, as well as other issues such as smog and polluted rivers.
In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 as ‘International Mother Earth Day’.
The landmark Paris Agreement, which brings almost 200 countries together in setting a common target to reduce global greenhouse emissions, was signed on Earth Day 2016.
Earth Day aims to build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and the planet.
Its mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide.
According to the United Nations, International Mother Earth Day is celebrated to remind each of us that the Earth and its ecosystems provide us with life and sustenance.

Significance of Earth Day 2021

The year 2021 marks the 51st anniversary of the annual celebrations.
The theme for Earth Day 2021 is ‘Restore Our Earth’.
The 2021 Earth Day theme focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems.

6. IDRISS DEBY ITNO

Subject : Geography

Context : Chad’s President IdrissDebyItno died from wounds sustained in battle after three decades in power, the Army said, opening a period of uncertainty in a country that is a key strategic ally of the West.

Concept :

He was killed in April 2021 while commanding forces fighting on the front against rebels from the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT).
The Transitional Military Council, led by interim president MahamatIdrissDéby, son of the late president, has assumed control of government.

About CHAD

Chad is a landlocked country in north-central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the south-west, Nigeria to the southwest (at Lake Chad), and Niger to the west.
Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the second-largest wetland in Africa.
The capital N’Djamena is the largest city.

7. BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA

Subject : International Relations

Context : While speaking at the annual Boao Forum, China’s President Xi Jinping said that global rules cannot be imposed “by one or a few countries”.

Concept :

Headquartered in China, the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is an international organization jointly initiated by 29 member states.
BFA holds its annual conference in Boao, Hainan on a regular basis.
The founding purpose of BFA was to promote economic integration in Asia. Its mission now is to pool positive energy for the development of Asia and the world.
The first conference of BFA was held on Feb. 26-27, 2001 in Boao, Hainan Province, China.
The forum, sometimes known as the “Asian Davos” is modelled on the World Economic Forum held annually in Davos, Switzerland.
Its fixed address is in Bo’ao, Hainan province, China, although the Secretariat is based in Beijing.

8. WORLD INNOVATION DAY

Subject : Current Events

Context : Recently ,World Innovation Day is celebrated.

Concept :

World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID) is a global UN day celebrated on April 21 to raise awareness around the importance of creativity and innovation in problem solving with respect to advancing the United Nations sustainable development goals.
The first World Creativity and Innovation Day was celebrated on April 21, 2018.
World Creativity and Innovation Day 2021 celebrates the creative economy that consists of audiovisual products, design, new media, performing arts, publishing and visual arts.
The creativity and innovation sector is a highly transformative sector of the world economy in terms of income generation, job creation and export earnings.

9. NEW COVID VACCINE POLICY

Subject : Governance

Context : It seems certain that many recipients will pay more than in the first three phases of vaccination, but key questions about availability, distribution, prioritisation remain unanswered.

Concept :

India will dramatically expand its vaccination coverage from May 1, including everyone aged 18 and older.
The fourth phase of the mass inoculation programme incorporates several changes in vaccine policy.
In the first three phases, when healthcare workers, frontline workers, and those above the age of 45 were vaccinated, the Centre procured the entire quantity of vaccines from the manufacturers, Serum Institute of India (Covishield) and Bharat Biotech (Covaxin), and distributed it to states.
The states distributed the stock to government vaccination centres, which administered the vaccine free of cost, and to private hospitals that charged recipients Rs 250 per dose.
First, the 50 per cent basket of vaccine doses earmarked for states and private hospitals in the open market will be used to vaccinate those above the age of 18 years.
Second, free vaccination would be available at all vaccination centres that receive doses from the Government of India — with those doses, healthcare workers, frontline workers, and those above 45 will be vaccinated.

10. OPCW

Subject : International Relations

Context : India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has been appointed as external auditor of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) at The Hague.

Concept :

The OPCW is an independent, autonomous international organisation with a working relationship with the United Nations.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997.
The organisation was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize “for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons”.
The OPCW Member States share the collective goal of preventing chemistry from ever again being used for warfare, thereby strengthening international security.

To this end, the Convention contains four key provisions:

Destroying all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCW.
Monitoring chemical industry to prevent new weapons from re-emerging.
Providing assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical threats.
Fostering international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the Convention and promote the peaceful use of chemistry.

The Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits:

Developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, or retaining chemical weapons.
The direct or indirect transfer of chemical weapons.
Chemical weapons use or military preparation for use.
Assisting, encouraging, or inducing other states to engage in CWC-prohibited activity.
The use of riot control agents “as a method of warfare.”