Daily Prelims Notes 22 December 2020

December 22, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject : Current Events

Context : National Mathematics Day is celebrated every year on December 22, honouring the birth anniversary of mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Concept :

National Mathematics Day is celebrated every year on December 22.
It is observed to honor the birth anniversary of the famous mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan who greatly contributed towards mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions.
In 2012, the Indian Government declared that 22 December will be celebrated every year as National Mathematics Day.

Contribution of Srinivasa Ramanujan :

In 1911, Ramanujan published the first of his papers in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society.
Ramanujan traveled to England in 1914, where Hardy tutored him and collaborated with him in some research.
He worked out the Riemann series, the elliptic integrals, hypergeometric series, the functional equations of the zeta function, and his own theory of divergent series.
The number 1729 is known as the Hardy-Ramanujan number after a famous visit by Hardy to see Ramanujan at a hospital.
Hardy observed Ramanujan’s work primarily involved fields less known even amongst other pure mathematicians.
Ramanujan’s home state of Tamil Nadu celebrates 22 December as ‘State IT Day’, memorializing both the man and his achievements, as a native of Tamil Nadu.
The Dev Patel-starrer ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ (2015) was a biopic on the mathematician.

2. STATUS OF LEOPARD REPORT

Subject : Environment

Context : Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday announced that a 60 per cent increase has been recorded in the population count of leopards in India from 2014 estimates according to status of leopard report.

Concept :

The leopard population has been estimated using camera trapping method.
There are 12,852 leopards in India as of 2018 as compared to the previous estimate of 7910 conducted 2014, an increase of 60% in 4 years.
The highest concentration of the leopard in India is estimated to be in Madhya Pradesh (3,421) followed by Karnataka (1,783) and Maharashtra (1,690).
Recent meta-analyses of leopard status and distribution suggest 48–67% range loss for the species in Africa and 83–87% in Asia.
In India, leopards have experienced a possibly human-induced 75-90% population decline in the last ~120-200 years.
In Indian subcontinent poaching, habitat loss, depletion of natural prey and conflict are major threats to leopard populations. All these have resulted in changing the species status from ‘Near Threatened’ to ‘Vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
As for region-wise distribution, the highest number of 8,071 leopards were found in central India and eastern ghats. In the northeast hills, there are just 141 leopards.
The leopard was estimated across forested habitats in tiger range areas of the country but other leopard occupied areas such as non-forested habitats, higher elevations in the Himalayas, arid landscapes and majority of North East landscape were not sampled.
Therefore, the population estimation should be considered as minimum number of leopards in each of the landscapes.

3. DISTRICT MINERAL FOUNDATION

Subject : Economy

Context : Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner has ordered an audit and an impact assessment of utilisation of funds from the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) for the financial years 2017-2020.

Concept :

DMFs were instituted under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Amendment Act 2015.
They are non-profit trusts to work for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining-related operations.
Objective: To work for the interest of the benefit of the persons and areas affected mining related operations in such manner as may be prescribed by the State Government.
Its manner of operation comes under the jurisdiction of the relevant State Government.
The fund is collected at the district level. There are certain high-priority areas identified in all states’ DMF rules, where at least 60 per cent of the fund must be used. These include vital and pressing concerns, including healthcare.
The various state DMF rules and the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Khestra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) guidelines stipulate some “high priority” issues for DMFs, including:

Drinking water.

Health

Women and child welfare.

Education

Livelihood and skill development.

Welfare of aged and disabled.

Sanitation

Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY):

The programme is meant to provide for the welfare of areas and people affected by mining related operations, using the funds generated by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).

Objectives of the scheme:

To implement various developmental and welfare projects/programs in mining affected areas that complement the existing ongoing schemes/projects of State and Central Government.
To minimize/mitigate the adverse impacts, during and after mining, on the environment, health and socio-economics of people in mining districts.
To ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected people in mining areas.

4. ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY (AMU)

Subject : History

Context : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University on 22 December, 2020.

Concept :

AMU became a University in 1920, through an Act of Indian Legislative Council by elevating the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College to the status of a Central University.
MAO College was set up in 1877 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.
The University campus is located in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. It also has three off-campus centres in Malappuram (Kerala), Murshidabad-Jangipur (West Bengal) and Kishanganj (Bihar).

Contributions of Syed Ahmed Khan

He started his career as a civil servant and served the British before the revolt of 1857.
The 1857 revolt was one of the turning points in Syed Ahmed’s life and he penned a pamphlet titled “The Causes of the Indian Revolt” to explain the reasons of the revolt from a “native perspective”.
He supported the British during the 1857 revolution. In 1859 he published the booklet Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (The Causes of the Indian Revolt) in which he studied the causes of the Indian upheaval.
He raised voice against the existing religious intolerance, ignorance and irrationalism prevailing in the society at that time.
He denounced the orthodox systems of purdah, polygamy and easy divorce of the Muslim community.
Tahzebul Akhlaq (Social Reformer in English), a magazine founded by him, tried to awaken people’s consciousness on social and religious issues in very expressive prose.
He instituted the Scientific Society in 1863 to instill a scientific temperament into the Muslims and to make the Western knowledge available to Indians in their own language.
He launched The Aligarh Institute Gazette, an organ of the Scientific Society in March 1866 and succeeded in agitating the minds in the traditional Muslim society.
In 1875, Sir Syed founded the Madarsatul Uloom in Aligarh and patterned the MAO College after Oxford and Cambridge universities that he went on a trip to London. His objective was to build a college in line with the British education system but without compromising its Islamic values.

The Aligarh Movement:

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan is best known for the Aligarh Movement a systemic movement aimed at reforming the social, political and educational aspects of the Muslim community.
In 1886, he set up the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental Education Congress which was later renamed the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental Educational Conference. It aimed to bring together education and culture.
He also emphasised the need for an autonomous Muslim institution free of any government funding.
It undertook to modernise Muslim’s education by adapting English as a medium of learning and western education rather than just focusing on traditional teachings.
The movement helped the Muslims revival and gave them a common language Urdu.

5. MUTANT CORONAVIRUS

Subject : Science & tech

Context : A new variant Covid-19 strain has been discovered in the United Kingdom last week and could be the reason behind the sharp rise in cases in the country.

Concept :

Scientists and researchers say the new strain has much higher transmissibility than compared to the earlier variant.

Why do viruses mutate?

A mutation just means a difference; a letter change in the genome.
Mutations in viruses are a natural part of evolution.
The pressure on the virus to evolve is increased by the fact that so many millions of people have now been infected.

Covid-19 mutant strain

It has been named VUI-202012/01 (the first “Variant Under Investigation” in December 2020) and is defined by a set of 17 changes or mutations. As of Dec 13, a total of 1,108 cases with this new variant had been identified, predominantly in the south and east of England where cases have been rising.
This new variant is showing some 17 changes in the genome, this is a very large change. Due to this change, the transmissibility of this virus has also changed and is 70% more infectious compared to the earlier variant.
There is a high possibility that the new strain is still in the UK as it has not been detected in other parts of Europe.

6. INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE

Subject : Economy

Context : Suspension of the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC) is being extended till March 31, 2021, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce virtual conference.

Concept :

About :

Insolvency and bankruptcy code 2016 was introduced to resolve the bankruptcy crisis in corporate sector.
Under IBC, either the creditor (banks) or the loaner (defaulter) can initiate insolvency proceedings.
It is done by submitting a plea to the adjudicating authority, the National Companies Law Tribunal (NCLT).
According to IBC, a financial creditor holds an important role in the corporate insolvency process.
The Committee of Creditors (CoC) under IBC includes all financial creditors of a corporate debtor.
The CoC will appoint and supervise the Insolvency Professional.
It has the power to either approve or reject the resolution plan to revive the debtor, or to proceed to liquidate the debtor.

Reasons for Suspension

Companies are facing significant disruption due to the nationwide lockdown among other COVID-19-related measures.
The government is also working on a special resolution framework for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The threshold for triggering the insolvency process has been increased substantially for these.
All the above measures are designed to extend relief to businesses in these extraordinary times.
However, policy-makers would do well to account for the unintended consequences as well.
g. banks are worried that the moratorium on repayment of loans could affect the credit culture
It might well lead to higher non-performing assets (NPAs).

7. REASONABLE RESTRICTIONS

Subject : Polity

Context : The Bombay High Court while hearing a criminal writ plea on Monday against actor Kangana Ranaut for her allegedly offensive tweets, observed that the actor had the fundamental right to express her views through tweets albeit reasonable restrictions.

Concept :

Article 19(2) of the Indian constitution enables the government to impose certain restrictions on free speech for issues –
Security of the State,
friendly relations with foreign States,
public order,
decency and morality,
contempt of court,
defamation,
incitement to an offense, and
sovereignty and integrity of India.

8. INDIA VIETNAM LEADER’S VIRTUAL SUMMIT

Subject : International Relations

Context : Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a Virtual Summit with the Prime Minister of Vietnam.

Concept :

A ‘Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People’ document was adopted during the Summit, to guide the future development of the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Both leaders also welcomed the signing of a Plan of Action for period 2021-2023 for further implementation of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to implement the Joint Vision.

Announcements made:

Implementation of the High Speed Guard Boat (HSGB) Manufacturing Project for Vietnam Border Guard Command under the US$ 100 million Defence Line of Credit extended by Government of India to Vietnam;
Completion and handing over of seven Development Projects with Indian ‘Grant-in-Aid’ Assistance of US$ 1.5 million for the benefit of local community in Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan province.
Enhancing the number of annual Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) from currently five to ten commencing FY 2021-2022.
Three new Development Partnership projects in heritage conservation in Vietnam (F-block of Temple at My Son; Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery in Quang Nam province; and Nhan Cham Tower in Phu Yen province).
Launch of bilateral project for preparing an Encyclopedia on India – Vietnam Civilizational and Cultural Relations.