Daily Prelims Notes 24 October 2020

October 24, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: Environment

Context : Delhi woke up to high levels of air pollution on Friday as air quality index (AQI) slipped into ‘very poor’ category while some parts of the city saw AQI turn ‘severe’.

Concept:

Besides concentration of particulates (PM 2.5 ,PM 10), the CPCB also monitors gas concentrations, including of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ammonia (NH3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3).

Major Air Pollutants:

CO:

By incomplete combustion of carbon based fuels, Automobile exhaust, Cigarette smoke
Combines with hemoglobin to form carboxy haemoglobin, which is highly stable & reduces oxygen carrying capacity of blood
Slow our reflexes & make us confused & sleepy

CO2:

Major greenhouse gas formed by respiration, burning of fuels, decomposition of lime, volcanic eruption.

CFCs:

Released mainly from air conditioning systems & refrigeration
Detrimental to Ozone layer present in the stratosphere as CFC + UV >> Cl (Chlorine radicals which causes breakdown of Ozone)

Lead:

Present in petrol, diesel, lead batteries, paints, hair dye products etc. (Affects children in particular)
Damages nervous system & cause digestive problems & in some cases causes cancer

O3:

Formed when NOx particle from vehicle exhaust & volatile Hydrocarbons interact with each other in presence of sunlight

SPM:

SPMs in air, when breathed in causes lung damage & respiratory problems

SO2:

Produced from burning coal (60 %), mainly in thermal power plants + Petroleum products + in production of paper & smelting of metals
Major contributor to smog causing lung diseases

CH4:

Mainly CH4 burns in fossil fuels + produced by burning of vegetation / rotting

Acid Rain:

Ph< 5.6 (Rain with oxides of sulphur & nitrogen (SO2 & NO2)) – HNO3 + H2SO4

NOx

NO3- → Acts as a fertilizer to the soil
Automobile exhaust produces NO2 which damages plant leaves & retard rate of photosynthesis + also causes red haze & lung irritation

Classical Smog

Occurs in cool humid climate
Chemically reducing hence called reducing smog
Smoke + fog + SO2.

2. LOCAL SELF GOVERNANCE

Subject: Polity

Context: The conduct of local body elections will ensure good governance said Lt. Governor of puducherry.

Concept:

73^rd and 74^th Constitutional Amendments were passed by Parliament in December, 1992. Through these amendments local self-governance was introduced in rural and urban India.

Salient Features of the Constitution 73^rd and 74^th Amendments:

These amendments added two new parts to the Constitution, namely, added Part IX titled “The Panchayats” (added by 73^rd Amendment) and Part IX A titled “The Municipalities” (added by 74^th Amendment).
Basic units of democratic system-Gram Sabhas (villages) and Ward Committees (Municipalities) comprising all the adult members registered as voters.
Three-tier system of panchayats at village, intermediate block / taluk / mandal and district levels except in States with population is below 20 lakhs (Article243B).
Seats at all levels to be filled by direct elections Article243C (2).
Seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and the chair persons of the Panchayats at all levels also shall be reserved for SCs and STs in proportion to their population.
One-third of the total number of seats to be reserved for women.
One third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs also reserved for women.
One-third offices of chair persons at all levels reserved for women (Article243D).
Uniform five year term and elections to constitute new bodies to be completed before the expiry of the term.
In the event of dissolution, elections compulsorily within six months (Article243E).
Independent Election Commission in each State for super intendance, direction and control of the electoral rolls (Article243K).
Panchayats to prepare plans for economic development and social justice in respect of subjects as devolved by law to the various levels of Panchayats including the subjects as illustrated in Eleventh Schedule (Article243G).
74^th Amendment provides for a District Planning Committee to consolidate the plans prepared by Panchayats and Municipalities (Article243ZD).
Budgetary allocation from State Governments, share of revenue of certain taxes, collection and retention of the revenue it raises, Central Government programmes and grants, Union Finance Commission grants (Article243H).
Establish a Finance Commission in each State to determine the principles on the basis of which adequate financial resources would been sured for panchayats and municipalities (Article243I).
The Eleventh Scheduled of the Constitution places as many as 29 functions within the purview of the Panchayati Raj bodies.

3. MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE

Subject: Economy

Context: Central bank believes monetary policy needs to remain accommodative despite inflationary pressures, according to the minutes of the monetary policy committee.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left interest rates unchanged at that meeting, as expected.

Concept:

The MPC is a statutory and institutionalized framework under the RBI Act, 1934, for maintaining price stability, while keeping in mind the objective of growth.
The MPC determines the policy interest rate (repo rate) required to achieve the inflation target (4%).
The Governor of RBI is ex-officio Chairman of the MPC.
The Monetary Policy Report is published by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of RBI.

Link between Growth, Inflation and Interest rates:

In a fast-growing economy, in comes go up quickly and more and more people have the money to buy the existing bunch of goods.
As more and more money chases the existing set of goods, prices of such goods rise. In other words, inflation (which is nothing but the rate of increase in prices) increases.
To contain inflation, a country’s central bank typically increases the interest rates in the economy. By doing so, it incentivises people to spend less and save more because saving becomes more profitable as interest rates go up.
However, when growth contracts, people’s incomes hit. As a result, less and less money is chasing the same quantity of goods. This results in either the inflation rate decelerating or it actually contracts (also called deflation).
In such situations, a central bank decreases interest rates so as to incentivises pending and by that route boost economic activity in the economy.
In the current Monetary Policy, RBI has not raised the interest rates even when retail inflation is high because RBI is facing an odd situation at present: GDP is contracting even as inflation is rising.
This is happening because the pandemic has reduced demand, on the one hand, and disrupted supply on the other. As a result falling growth and rising inflation are happening at the same time.

4. ILO

Subject: International Organization

Context: India assumed the role of chair of International Labour Organisation body from October 2020.

Concept:

The ILO was created in 1919 by the Versailles Peace Treaty.
After the demise of the League of Nations, it became the first specialized agency associated with the UN.
Its secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland.
It has 187 of the 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands.
It is responsible for drawing up and over seeing international labour standards.
It has a tripartite governing structure – representing governments, employers, and workers.
It publishes Global Wage report.

Eight Core Conventions of the ILO

Forced Labour Convention (No. 29)
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No.105)
Equal Remuneration Convention (No.100)
Discrimination (Employment Occupation) Convention (No.111)
Minimum Age Convention (No.138)
Worst forms of Child Labour Convention (No.182)
Freedom of Association and Protection of Right to Organised Convention (No.87)
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (No.98)

Note: India has not ratified Convention No 98 and 87.

5. BECA

Subject: International Relations

Context: US Officials has said that no commitment can be given about BECA agreement as 2+2 Dialogue between India and US is scheduled later this month.

Concept:

Basic Exchange Cooperation Agreement :

BECA will allow India to use the geospatial maps of the USA to get pinpoint military accuracy of automated hardware systems and weapons such as cruise and ballistic missiles.
BECA is an important precursor to India acquiring armed unmanned aerial vehicles such as the Predator-B from the USA. Predator-B uses spatial data for accurate strikes on enemy targets.
BECA is one of the four foundational military communication agreements between the two countries. The other three being GSOMIA, LEMOA, CISMOA.
Initially, India had reservations to geospatial mapping on the grounds of national security, but they were later addressed by mutual dialogue and discussion between the two countries.

6. COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT

Subject: Polity

Context: Facebook India’s policy head Ankhi Das on Friday appeared before the Joint Committee of Parliament that is examining the draft Data Protection Bill. However, e-commerce giant Amazon declined to depose before the panel.

Concept:

Parliamentary Committee:

Parliament scrutinises legislative proposals (Bills) in two ways:
The first way is by discussing it on the floor of the two Houses. This is a legislative requirement; all Bills have to be taken up for debate.
The second way is by referring a Bill to a Parliamentary Committee.

A Parliamentary Committee means a committee that:

Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman.
Works under the direction of the Speaker/Chairman.
Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/Chairman.
Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha.

Types of Parliamentary Committees:

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.
However, broadly there are two types of Parliamentary Committees– Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.
The Standing Committees are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis. They are,
Financial Committees
Departmental Standing Committees
Committees to Enquire
Committees to Scrutinise and Control
Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House
House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees
While the Ad Hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
They are further subdivided into Inquiry Committees and Advisory Committees.

Procedure:

There are three broad paths by which a Bill can reach a Parliamentary Committee.
The minister introducing the Bill recommends to the House that his Bill be examined by a Select Committee (Committee of one House i.e either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) of the House or a Joint Committee of both Houses.
The presiding officer of the House can also send a Bill to a Parliamentary Committee.
A Bill passed by one House can be sent by the other House to its Select Committee.
The report of the committee is of a recommendatory nature. The government can choose to accept or reject its recommendations. The Committee can also suggest its own version of the Bill.

7. ESEENTIAL COMMODITIES ACT

Subject: Important Legislations

Context: Govt imposes stock limits on onion to check prices under Essential commodities act.

Concept:

Essential Commodities Act

The ECA is an act which was established to ensure the delivery of certain commodities or products, the supply of which if obstructed owing to hoarding or black-marketing would affect the normal life of the people.
The ECA was enacted in 1955. This includes foodstuff, drugs, fuel (petroleum products) etc.
It has since been used by the Government to regulate the production, supply and distribution of a whole host of commodities it declares ‘essential’ in order to make them available to consumers at fair prices.
Additionally, the government can also fix the maximum retail price (MRP) of any packaged product that it declares an “essential commodity”.
The list of items under the Act includes drugs, fertilizers,Food items, pulses and edible oils, and petroleum and petroleum products.
The Centre can include new commodities as and when the need arises, and takes them off the list once the situation improves.

How ECA works?

If the Centre finds that a certain commodity is in short supply and its price is spiking, it can notify stock-holding limits on it for a specified period.
The States act on this notification to specify limits and take steps to ensure that these are adhered to.
Anybody trading or dealing in the commodity, be it wholesalers, retailers or even importers are prevented from stockpiling it beyond a certain quantity.
A State can, however, choose not to impose any restrictions. But once it does, traders have to immediately sell into the market any stocks held beyond the mandated quantity.
This improves supplies and brings down prices. As not all shopkeepers and traders comply, State agencies conduct raids to get everyone to toe the line and the errant are punished.
The excess stocks are auctioned or sold through fair price shops.
Ex: The Union Government has brought masks and hand-sanitisers under the ECA to make sure that these products, key for preventing the spread of Covid-19 infection, are available to people at the right price and in the right quality

For Food Items:

Based on the deliberations, Government takes various measures from time to time to stabilize prices of essential food items which, inter-alia, include appropriately utilizing trade and fiscal policy instruments like import duty.
The govt. can impose stock limits and advise State for effective action against hoarders & black marketers etc. to regulate domestic availability and moderate prices.
The government utilizes the buffer of agri-horticultural commodities like pulses, onion, etc. built under Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) to help moderate the volatility in prices.