Daily Prelims Notes 25 December 2020

December 25, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

1. RBI to conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of G-Secs

Subject : Economics

Context : The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday said it will conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities (G-Secs) under Open Market Operations (OMO) for an aggregate amount of ₹10,000 crores each on December 30.

Concept :

Open Market Operations

Open market operations is the sale and purchase of government securities and treasury bills by RBI or the central bank of the country.
The objective of OMO is to regulate the money supply in the economy.
RBI carries out the OMO through commercial banks and does not directly deal with the public.
When the RBI wants to increase the money supply in the economy, it purchases the government securities from the market and it sells government securities to suck out liquidity from the system.

2. PM Modi to launch Dedicated Freight Corridor

Subject: Economy

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate the largest section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor at midday on December 29 to launch the operations of one of the largest rail infrastructure projects in India.

Concept:

The 351-km Khurja-Bhaupur (Kanpur) section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor is ready and necessary trials and testing have already been concluded.
Along with the section, the PM will also unveil the state-of-the-art Operation Control Centre of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, based in Prayagraj.
The centre, with galleries of multiple screens, will keep track of all train movement in real time on the freight corridor and enable seamless planning of operations.

Dedicated freight corridors (DFC)

These are freight-only railway lines to move goods between industrial heartlands in the North and ports on the Eastern and Western coasts.
The dedicated freight-only lines are being built along the four key transportation routes – known as the Golden Quadrilateral and connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Howrah and its two diagonals (Delhi – Chennai and Mumbai – Howrah).
Covering a total of 10,122 km, these corridors carry the heaviest traffic and are highly congested.
The route carries 52 per cent of passenger traffic and 58 per cent of freight traffic, according to the Make-in-India report of 2017.

3. PM to flag off country’s first-ever driverless Metro

Subject: Economy

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the driverless train service on the 37 km-Magenta Line (Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden) and will also be launching the fully operational National Common Mobility Card for travel on the 23-km Airport Express Line.

Concept:

The Delhi Metro driverless trains are to operate on the Magenta Line and the Pink Line, made as part of the Phase-III of the DMRC.
The Delhi Metro in September 2017 had started full signalling trials of its new ‘driverless trains’ along a 20-km-long stretch on the Pink Line, which was yet to be commissioned back then.
The trials were to test the automation of the new metro trains, equipped with Unattended Train Operations (UTO) and CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) signalling systems, which will significantly increase their frequency.
The driver-less trains, having six coaches, are equipped with several advanced features. These new trains of the Delhi Metro have undergone significant technological as well as eco-friendly upgrades and many additional features have been added to increase passenger comfort.
They are designed for a maximum speed of 95 kmph and operational speed of 85 kmph, the Delhi Metro had earlier said.
Although, initially drivers will be deputed for operating the trains they would be gradually withdrawn to move to Unattended Train Operation (UTO).
These new-generation trains are suitable to eventually run on UTO mode, that is, train operators will not be required to operate these trains and the Operations Control Centres (OCC) of the Delhi Metro system will directly regulate the movement of the trains.
Each coach can accommodate a maximum of 380 passengers, which translates to 2,280 passengers in each train set of six coaches.
The cabin-less trains would be able to accommodate 40 commuters more in a six coach train as the driver’s cab will not be required in such trains.

4. New code for co-ops to kick in from April

Subject : Economics

Context : All Central co-operative banks and States co-operative banks will follow new set of regulations as prescribed under Banking Regulations Amendment Act with effect from April 1, 2021.

Concept :

The Finance Ministry has issued a notification stating that from April 1, the provisions of Section 4 of the said Act shall come into force for State co-operative banks and Central co-operative banks.
Section 4 is about amending Section 56 of original act of 1949, which deals with co-operative societies.
There is amendment which makes it clear that for public issue of private placement of shares, a co-operative bank will need prior approval of RBI.
This will also be needed for issuance of unsecured debentures or bonds or other like securities with initial or original maturity of not less than ten years, to any member of such co-operative bank or any other person residing within its area of operation.
The amendments do not affect existing powers of the State Registrars of Co-operative Societies under state co-operative laws.
The amendments do not apply to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or co-operative societies.
The Act also amends Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, to enable making of a scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation of a banking company for protecting the interest of the public, depositors and the banking system and for securing its proper management, even without making an order of moratorium, so as to avoid disruption of the financial system.

5. UNICEF and the World Economic Forum signs charter

Subject : Science & tech

Context : UNICEF and the World Economic Forum sign charter with 18 shipping, airlines and logistics companies to deliver COVID-19 vaccines.

Concept :

18 shipping, airlines and logistics industry CEOs, the Executive Director of UNICEF, and the President of the World Economic Forum, have signed a charter supporting UNICEF and COVAX countries in four main ways:
Engage with governments, customs authorities, UNICEF and other UN Agencies, and NGOs;
Participate in operational asset and competency sharing
Assign expertise to support governments, where requested by UNICEF
Support UNICEF’s Global Vaccine Logistics Distribution, for COVID-19, with prioritization and solutions for international and in country distribution of vaccines and related supplies on behalf of the COVAX facility.

COVAX FACILITY:

COVAX is one of three pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which was launched in April by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission and France in response to this pandemic.
It is the only truly global solution to this pandemic because it is the only effort to ensure that people in all corners of the world will get access to COVID-19 vaccines once they are available, regardless of their wealth.
Coordinated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the WHO, COVAX will achieve this by acting as a platform that will support the research, development and manufacturing of a wide range of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, and negotiate their pricing.
All participating countries, regardless of income levels, will have equal access to these vaccines once they are developed.
The initial aim is to have 2 billion doses available by the end of 2021, which should be enough to protect high risk and vulnerable people, as well as frontline healthcare workers.

6. ZERO LIQUID DISCHARGE: Balancing industry and environment

Subject: Economy

Context: The Centre is examining various options of moving forward on the country’s Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) policy to ensure that investment in emerging sectors such as semiconductors is not hampered while environment continues to be protected.

Concept:

The Department for Policy on Investments and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been getting suggestions for removing regulatory compliances such as Zero Liquid Discharge to encourage investments in sectors like semiconductors.
The DPIIT has held discussions with stakeholders such as Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State governments of Gujarat, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, on what the policy for zero level discharge will be going ahead, the official said

Zero Liquid Discharge

ZLD is a water treatment process to recirculate all the water back to the process with zero liquid waste. Government regulations demand fool-proof operations of the wastewater treatment plants for the purpose.
The focus of ZLD is to reduce wastewater economically and produce clean water that is suitable for reuse (e.g. irrigation), thereby saving money and being beneficial to the environment.
ZLD systems employ advanced wastewater/desalination treatment technologies to purify and recycle virtually all of the wastewater produced.
Also ZLD technologies help plants meet discharge and water reuse requirements, enabling businesses to:
Meet stringent government discharge regulations
Reach higher water recovery (%)
Treat and recover valuable materials from the wastewater streams, such as potassium sulfate, caustic soda, sodium sulfate, lithium and gypsum
The conventional way to reach ZLD is with thermal technologies such as evaporators (multi stage flash (MSF), multi effect distillation (MED) and mechanical vapor compression (MCV)) and crystallizers and recover their condensate. Thus, ZLD plants produce solid waste

7. VISVA BHARATI

Subject : Current Events

Context: Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s vision is the essence of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission of his government for empowerment of India and the world, Prime Minister said, as he took forward his outreach to premier educational institutions.

Concept :

Visva-Bharati University

The university was set up by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1921 at Santiniketan, Bolpur in West Bengal’s Birbhum district.
It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva-Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India.
Until independence, it was a college. Soon after independence, the institution was given the status of a central university in 1951 by an act of the Parliament.

Significance

Rabindranath Tagore believed in open-air education and had reservations about any teaching done within four walls.
This was due to his belief that walls represent the conditioning of the mind.
Tagore did not have a good opinion about the Western method of education introduced by the British in India; on this subject, Tagore and Gandhiji’s opinion matched.
So he devised a new system of learning in Visva-Bharati. He allowed students to continue their course till the student and his teacher both are satisfied.
At Visva-Bharati, if a course demanded by a student is not available, then the university will design a course and bring teachers for that course.
The university would not be bothered by the consideration of whether there is a demand for the course.

8. ZOMI TRIBAL GROUP

Subject: Social Issue

Context: Manipur’s Zomi ethnic group has renewed its demand for the creation of Zoland Territorial Council (ZTC) under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, a self-administered zone on the lines of the Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam.

Concept:

The Zou people or Zomi are an indigenous community living along the frontier of India and Burma. They are a sub-group of the Zo people (Mizo-Kuki-Chin).
In India, they live with and are similar in language and habits to the Paite and the Simte peoples.
In India, the Zou are officially recognized as one of the thirty-three indigenous peoples within the state of Manipur, and are one of the Scheduled tribes.
According to the 2001 Census, the Zou/Jou population in Manipur is around 20,000, less than 3% of the population. The community is concentrated in Churachandpur and Chandel districts of Manipur.

9. BHARATSKILLS PLATFORM

Subject: Current Events

Context: The Directorate General of Training (DGT) joined hands with Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation to provide a digital content for ITI students.

Concept:

Nearly 1,20,000 students in around 3000 ITIs across India can be benefited by this digitized e-learning module via the Bharat skills portal.
The Directorate General of Training (DGT) has launched an online learning platform called the Bharat skills in Oct 2019.
It is a Central Repository for skills providing easy access for the trainees and trainers of the ITI ecosystem, to access updated curriculums and course content of all courses under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS), Question Banks, mock/practice papers, learning videos, etc., hence enabling anytime, anywhere learning outside the classrooms.
This platform also presents a unique access to a centralized, scalable and a thriving support ecosystem through its industrial partners for the students and teachers who can now learn the newer IR 4.0 skills to meet the demands of the industry.

10. Opposition to inclusion of the areas around Statue of Unity under eco-sensitive zone. Eco sensitive Zones

Subject: Environment

Context: Former BJP MLA Motilal Vasava has written to the sarpanches of 121 villages around the Statue of Unity in Narmada district, urging them to oppose the inclusion of the areas under eco-sensitive zone as per a 2016 notification of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

Under which power villages can oppose it?

Gram Sabha has been bestowed rights to protect properties, jungles and other possessions as indigenous communities under Schedule V of the Constitution as well as the special PESA Act

Concept:

Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA, a law enacted by the Government of India for ensuring self-governance through traditional gram sabhas for people living in the Scheduled Areas of India as per Schedule V of the Constitution.
The salient feature of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) and the modalities worked out to grant rights to tribals in the country are:

(i) Legislation on Panchayats shall be in conformity with the customary law, social and religious practices and traditional management practices of community resources;

(ii) Habitation or a group of habitations or a hamlet or a group of hamlets comprising a community and managing its affairs in accordance with traditions and customs; and shall have a separate Gram Sabha.

(iii) Every Gram Sabha to safeguard and preserve the traditions and customs of people, their cultural identity, community resources and the customary mode of dispute resolution.

(iv) The Gram Sabhas have roles and responsibilities in approving all development works in the village, identify beneficiaries, issue certificates of utilization of funds; powers to control institutions and functionaries in all social sectors and local plans.

(v) Gram Sabhas or Panchayats at appropriate level shall also have powers to manage minor water bodies; power of mandatory consultation in matters of land acquisition; resettlement and rehabilitation and prospecting licenses/mining leases for minor minerals; power to prevent alienation of land and restore alienated land; regulate and restrict sale/consumption of liquor; manage village markets, control money lending to STs; and ownership of minor forest produce.

The provisions of Panchayats with certain modification and exceptions have been extended to the Schedule V areas viz. the ten States where the Panchayats exists in the country.

Eco Sensitive Zones:

The basic aim of ESZ is to regulate certain activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries so as to minimise the negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas
ESZs are notified by MoEFCC, Government of India under Environment Protection Act 1986.
The guidelines include a broad list of activities that could be allowed, promoted, regulated or promoted. This is an important checklist for conservationists to keep in mind while identifying threats in ESZs.
For this purpose, the ministry has asked all states to constitute a committee comprising the wildlife warden, an ecologist and a revenue department official of the area concerned to suggest the requirement of an eco-sensitive zone and its extent.
The width of the ESZ and type of regulation may vary from protected area to area. However, as a general principle, the width of the ESZ could go up to 10 kms around the protected area.