Daily Prelims Notes 25 March 2022
- March 25, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
25 March 2022
Table Of Contents
- G20: President Joe Biden wants Russia to be expelled from G20
- Food insecurity
- Indian Army to get new eye in the sky
- History of Ladakh
- Towards eradicating TB from India’s tribal communities
- Revocation of Disaster Act
- RBI Innovation Hub
- Wheat exports
- Cess and surcharge as deductions
- Trade deficit trends
- What are Census towns?
1. G20: President Joe Biden wants Russia to be expelled from G20
Subject: IR
Section: International organisation
Context: US President Joe Biden said that he wants Russia out of the G-20. He also added that it depends on other member countries.
Concept :
- The G20 is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union, with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
- The G20 membership comprises a mix of the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies, representing about two-thirds of the world’s population, 85% of global gross domestic product, 80% of global investment and over 75% of global trade.
G20 Members
- The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
- Spain as a permanent, non-member invitee, also attends leader summits.
Structure and Functioning of G20
- The G20 Presidency rotates annually according to a system that ensures a regional balance over time.
- For the selection of presidency, the 19 countries are divided into 5 groups, each having no more than 4 countries. The presidency rotates between each group. Every year the G20 selects a country from another group to be president.
- India is in Group 2 which also has Russia, South Africa, and Turkey.
- The G20 does not have a permanent secretariat or Headquarters. Instead, the G20 president is responsible for bringing together the G20 agenda in consultation with other members and in response to developments in the global economy.
- TROIKA: Every year when a new country takes on the presidency (in this case Argentina 2018), it works hand in hand with the previous presidency (Germany, 2017) and the next presidency (Japan, 2019) and this is collectively known as TROIKA. This ensures continuity and consistency of the group’s agenda.
Subject: Governance
Section: Food security
Context: Second round of the Hunger Watch survey (HW-II)
Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) is experience-based measures of household or individual food security.
The FIES Survey Module (FIES-SM) consists of eight questions regarding people’s access to adequate food, and can be easily integrated into various types of population surveys
The FIES-SM questions refer to the experiences of the individual respondent or of the respondent’s household as a whole. The questions focus on self-reported food-related behaviors and experiences associated with increasing difficulties in accessing food due to resource constraints.
During the last 12 months, was there a time when, because of lack of money or other resources:
- You were worried you would not have enough food to eat?
- You were unable to eat healthy and nutritious food?
- You ate only a few kinds of foods?
- You had to skip a meal?
- You ate less than you thought you should?
- Your household ran out of food?
- You were hungry but did not eat?
- You went without eating for a whole day?
3. Indian Army to get new eye in the sky
Subject: Science and Tech
Section: Space
Context: The Indian Army has received a great boost after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave his nod to the Acceptance of Necessity for the GSAT-7B satellite.
What are the GSAT 7 series satellites?
- GSAT 7 satellites are advanced satellites developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to meet the communication needs of the defence services.
- The GSAT 7 satellite was launched in August 2013 from an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou in French Guiana.
- It is a 2,650 kg satellite which has a footprint of nearly 2,000 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean region.
- GSAT 7 provides a gamut of services for military communication needs, which includes low bit voice rate to high bit rate data facilities, including multi-band communications.
- Named Rukmini, the satellite carries payloads in UHF, C-band and Ku-band, and helps the Navy to have a secure, real time communication link between its land establishments, surface ships, submarines and aircraft.
What is the role of the GSAT 7A satellite, which is already operational?
- The GSAT 7A, dubbed the “Indian Angry Bird” was launched in 2018 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, and has gone a long way in boosting the connectivity between the ground radar stations, airbases and the airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) of the IAF.
- It also helps in satellite controlled operations of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which gives a great deal of reliability to the operations as compared to ground controlled operations.
- This satellite has 10 channels in Ku band with switchable frequency for mobile users, one fixed Gregorian or parabolic antenna, and four steerable antennae.
What other kinds of military satellites does India have?
- An Electromagnetic Intelligence Gathering Satellite (EMISAT), developed by ISRO, was launched in April 2020 through a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C45).
- It has an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) package called Kautilya, which allows the interception of ground-based radar and also carries out electronic surveillance across India.
- The ELINT package provides the capability in direction-finding of radar and fixing their locations. It is placed in a 748-km orbit, and is said to be based on the Israeli satellite system. This satellite circles the globe pole-to-pole, and is helpful in gathering information from radars of countries that have borders with India.
- India also has a RISAT 2BR1 synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite, which was launched in December 2019 from Sriharikota. It has the capability to operate in different modes including very high resolution imaging modes of 1×0.5 metre resolution and 0.5×0.3 m resolution with a swath of 5-10 km.
What will be the role of the GSAT 7B satellite?
- Till date, the Indian Army has been dependent on GSAT-7A and other satellites, but with this new state-of-the-art technology, the Army will have new eyes in the sky.
- The GSAT 7B will primarily fulfil the communication needs of the Army.
- GSAT 7B will also help the Army enhance its surveillance in border areas.
- Experts note that continuous satellite coverage over India’s vast and complex topography will help the Indian Army in maintaining peace and also to carry out security operations, if needed.
- The use of such a satellite would also mean that the Army’s vast array of radio communication equipment could come under a single platform.
- Enhancing the operational reach: When the Army gets its own communication satellite, the UAVs will be able to fly as per their original specifications, since this satellite can provide secure, encrypted communication to them.
Subject: GEOGRAPHY
Section: Mapping
- Ladakh emerged as a distinct entity with the Treaty of Timosgang in 1684. This treaty established relations between Leh and Lhasa through trade exchanges.
- With the Treaty of Chushul in 1842, Ladakh and Tibet agreed to maintain the status quo. The Treaty of Amritsar in 1846 between the East India Company and the State of Kashmir included Ladakh with its eastern boundary undefined.
- After Britain took over governance of India, attention shifted to the northern boundary of Ladakh because of the Russian advance into Central Asia.
- In 1870, a British Joint Commissioner was posted at Leh, who continued good relations and correspondence with the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Amban at Lhasa and with the Kashmir State.
Disputes in Western Sector:
- The dispute is said to be due to the failure of the British empire as it failed to demarcate a legal border between both countries. During the British rule in India two borderlines were proposed – Johnson’s line and McDonald line in 1865 and 1893 respectively.
- The Johnson’s line shows Aksai Chin in Ladakh i.e. under India’s control whereas McDonald Line places it under China’s control. India considers Johnson Line as a rightful national border with China, while on the other hand, China considers the McDonald Line as the correct border with India. The different claims and perceptions of LAC have led to an overlapping area, within that area lies a small zone which both the sides patrol causing clashes of the Indian and the Chinese army.
- At present, Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the line separating Indian areas of Ladakh from Aksai Chin. It is concurrent with the Chinese Aksai Chin claim line.
In Ladakh, the disputed areas include:
- Pangong Tso lake
- Galwan Valley, where Shyok and Galwan rivers meet
- Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO), a key northern region close to the Karakoram Pass.
- The Hot Springs-Gogra area of the LAC
- Demchok which is close to the southernmost part of the LAC in Ladakh.
- Chushul , located on the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake, has an airstrip and is near Rezang La pass on the LAC.
Middle Sector
- In the middle sector, India shares about 625km of the border with China. This is the only sector where the both countries have less disagreement. The border runs from Ladakh to Nepal. The states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand touch the border with Tibet in this sector.
Eastern Sector
- In the eastern sector, India shares a 1140km boundary with China. The boundary line is called McMahon Line runs from the eastern limit of Bhutan to a point near the Talu Pass at the trijunction of Tibet, India, and Myanmar. The majority of the territory of Arunachal Pradesh is claimed by China as a part of Southern Tibet.
- China considers the McMahon line illegal. McMahon proposed the line in the Simla Accord in 1914 to settle the boundary between Tibet and India, and Tibet and China. Though the Chinese representatives at the meeting initialed the agreement, they subsequently refused to accept it.
Agreements so far:
1996 Agreement
- The 1996 agreement is on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas.
- Article VI (1) of the 1996 agreement says “With a view to preventing dangerous military activities along the line of actual control in the India-China border areas… Neither side shall open fire, cause bio-degradation, use hazardous chemicals, conduct blast operations or hunt with guns or explosives within two kilometres from the line of actual control. This prohibition shall not apply to routine firing activities in small arms firing ranges.”
2005 Agreement
- In Article 1:“the two sides will resolve the boundary question through peaceful and friendly consultations. Neither side shall use or threaten to use force against the other by any means”
2013 Agreement
- 2013 Agreement on Border Defence Cooperation also stated that neither side shall use its military capability against the other.
5. Towards eradicating TB from India’s tribal communities
Subject: Governance
Section: Health
Context: Aashwasan campaign Launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs
About Aashwasan campaign
- Aashwasan campaign Launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Anamaya, Tribal Health Collaborative (an initiative of Piramal Foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID)
- The Tribal TB Initiative aims to improve care and support among tribal populations in India.
- The campaign fosters community engagement, forging partnerships with community-based organisations and community-influencers to influence behaviour change to reduce the burden of TB. It also works with the public health system to enhance screening and diagnosis, increase notification and complement government efforts.
Tuberculosis (TB)
- Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
- TB commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect other parts (extrapulmonary TB)
- Tuberculosis spreads from person to person through the air, when people who are infected with TB infection cough, sneeze or otherwise transmit respiratory fluids through the air.
- The most common risk factor associated with TB is HIV & other conditions that impair the immune system.
- Common symptoms of tuberculosis are Chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum, Loss of weight, Loss of appetite, Fever and night sweats, Fatigue , etc.
- TB Treatment : consists of four drugs:
- Isoniazid (INH),
- Rifampicin,
- Pyrazinamide &
- Ethambutol.
Multidrug-Resistant TB (MDR-TB)
- In MDR-TB, the bacteria that cause TB develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs used to cure the disease.
- MDR-TB does not respond to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the 2 most powerful anti-TB drugs.
- Treatment options for MDR-TB are limited and expensive. CBNAAT (Cartridges Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) is used for early diagnosis of MDR-TB.
Extensively Drug-Resistant TB (XDR-TB)
- XDR-TB is a form of multidrug-resistant TB with additional resistance to more anti-TB drugs.
- People who are resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin, plus any fluoroquinolone and at least one of three injectable second-line drugs (amikacin, kanamycin, capreomycin) are said to have XDR-TB.
To achieve goal: To end TB by 2025
- India’s Initiative
- National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Tuberculosis Elimination (2017-2025)
- The Nikshay Ecosystem (National TB information system)
- Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY- financial support)
- TB Harega Desh Jeetega Campaign.
- Global Initiative:
- The WHO (World Health Organisation) has launched a joint initiative “Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” with the Global Fund and Stop TB Partnership.
- WHO also releases the Global Tuberculosis Report
Subject: Disaster Management
Section:
Context: Two years on, with the country’s active caseload falling and cumulative vaccine doses administered, the MHA has asked states to “appropriately” discontinue the guidelines on containment of Covid-19.
Concept:
Background:
- Since March 24, 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been issuing orders and guidelines to contain Covid-19.
- The MHA has been issuing directions to states through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), under The Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The Disaster Management Act, 2005:
- The law lays down the institutional mechanism for drawing up and monitoring the implementation of disaster management plans.
- Under the law, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister, has been constituted.
- A National Executive Committee, which has the Union Home Secretary and members from various ministries, assists the NDMA.
- The focus is on the prevention and mitigation of disasters, and on swift response to disaster situations.
- Section 10 of the Act deals with the powers and functions of this National Executive Committee. It also empowers the Committee to lay down guidelines or give directions to, the concerned Ministries or Departments of the GoI and the State Governments. The Union Home Ministry has been issuing guidelines for the containment of Covid-19 under this section.
- The last important order passed by the MHA under the act was the evidence-based containment measures, social distancing and imposition of Section 144 of CrPC in the backdrop of Omicron Variant.
- The latest order effectively signals a return to full normalcy from April 1 as the MHA has advised all states to “appropriately” discontinue after March 31 the guidelines that were issued under the DM Act. However, public health measures to detect a possible new surge in cases, have to be implemented.
Have the guidelines under the Act been imposed earlier?
Yes. Before the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, guidelines have been issued under the law on the management of earthquakes, chemical disasters, droughts, hospital safety, urban flooding, etc.
To know about NDMA, refer: https://optimizeias.com/national-disaster-management-authority/
Subject: Economy
Context: RBI Governor inaugurated the Bengaluru based RBIH, which has been set up as a Section 8 company under Companies Act, 2013 with an initial capital of Rs. 100 Cr.
Concept:
RBI Innovation Hub (RBIH):
- It is an investment for the future aimed at facilitating an environment that accelerates innovation across the financial sector.
- It is expected to build an ecosystem for development of prototypes, patents and proofs of concept and promote cross-thinking spanning regulatory domains and national boundaries.
- Its underlying focus is to promote access to financial services and products for the low-income population in the country.
- The Hub has plans of identifying and mentoring start-ups having maximum potential.
- It would have continuous engagement with industry, innovators, academia and related stakeholders to nurture and leverage beneficial innovation in the financial sector that can deliver customized products for those at the bottom of the pyramid.
- It would collaborate with various Govt Ministries/ Departments/ Academia to identify problem statements in different domains and explore potential solutions.
- On the whole, it serves as an epicentre for exchange of views and knowledge sharing, while also remaining focused on delivering clear cut objective within reasonable timelines.
What?
The Centre has set a target to export at least a million tonnes (mt) of wheat every month in 2022-23 as it wants the country to emerge as a reliable source of the grain both in “quantity and quality”.
Cause?
Ukraine war-The conflict-induced bottlenecks at Black Sea ports—where cargo vessels have been struck by Russian rockets—and other complications of the war have slammed Ukrainian exports.
The boycott of Russian ports by shipping companies and the knock-on effects of sanctions have also disrupted the flow of foods and feeds from Russia.
Trends?
- Wheat-
- China, EU and India are the top three largest wheat producers, accounting for about more than 41% of the world’s total wheat production.
- The top five countries that exported the highest dollar-value worth of wheat include Russia > United States > Canada > France > Ukraine.
- Russia is the 4th largest producer and largest exporter of wheat in the world and Egypt is the largest importer of wheat.
- China and India are major wheat producers, but are net importers and provide relatively small shares of global wheat exports.
- Russia and Ukraine account for 14% of global wheat production and rank 4th and 7th, respectively.
- Russia and Ukraine account for nearly 30 percent of the global wheat supply and the halt in the black sea trade route due to the Ukraine war has disrupted the supply of wheat leading to massive rise in price i.e. a rise of 60%
- Wheat prices are likely to remain elevated as inputs have gone up sharply with prices of fertilizers, fuel, seeds, insecticides and pesticides surging.
- In Asia, only India has the exportable stocks of wheat and prospect of exporting wheat above the government mandated minimum support price.
Top Wheat Producing States: Uttar Pradesh > Punjab > Haryana>Madhya Pradesh > Rajasthan> Bihar>Gujarat
9. Cess and surcharge as deductions
Subject :Economy
Section :Fiscal policy
Context:
- The Finance Ministry has proposed that deduction claimed for cess and surcharge under the Income Tax Act will be treated as “under-reported” income.
- Amendment to Finance Bill inserts a new clause to Section 155 of the IT Act.
- If declared ‘under-reported’, total income will be recomputed and the assessee will have to pay tax, interest and penalty.
- The amendment will take effect retrospectively from April 1, 2005 and will apply to the assessment year 2005-06 and thereafter.
Cess and surcharge are the taxes levied by the Union Government in order to raise funds for government operations. Though both Cess and Surcharge add money to the government’s revenue, these are different in many aspects.
Cess
Example-Every individual in India is liable to pay income tax and has to also pay the health and education cess at the rate of 4% on the tax including surcharge.
Definition– A cess is collected by the government for the development of a particular service or sector. So, as the name suggests, the health and education cess cannot be used for any other means. Cess is imposed as an additional tax besides the existing tax (tax on tax). However, certain cesses, such as the Swachh Bharat Cess (SBC), are levied as a percentage of the total value. The SBC is 0.5 percent of the total value of the facilities in this case.
Cess is paid to the Consolidated Fund of India, but it can only be used for particular purposes.
Cess Article 270 of the Constitution allows cess to be excluded from the purview of the divisible pool of taxes that the Union government must share with the States. The process of cess levying occurs after Parliament has authorised its creation through an enabling legislation that specifies the purpose for which the funds are being raised. There are 42 cesses that have been levied at various times since 1944 as listed in a report by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy in August 2018. The very first cess was levied on matches, according to this study. Post Independence, the cess taxes were linked initially to the development of a particular industry, including a salt cess and a tea cess in 1953. The introduction of the Goods and Services tax (GST) in 2017 led to most cesses being done away with and as of August 2018, there were only seven cesses that continued to be levied. These were:
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Surcharge
Example-
- In the case of individuals earning a net taxable salary of more than Rs 1 crore, a surcharge of 10% is levied on tax liability.
- Surcharge at the rate of 5% is levied on domestic corporations if net income is in the range of Rs 1 cr to Rs 10 cr. If the net income exceeds Rs 10 cr, surcharge at the rate of 10% is levied.
- Surcharge at the rate of 2% is levied on foreign corporations if the net income is in the range of Rs 1 cr to Rs 10 cr.
- If the net income exceeds Rs 10 cr, the surcharge is increased to 5%. Marginal relief is given to both domestic and foreign companies in case the net income exceeds Rs 1 cr and Rs 10 cr.
Definition-A surcharge applies to those persons whose income is more than Rs. 50 lakhs. This money is not collected for any specific cause, but can be used for any reason as the Union Government sees fit. Interestingly, it is applicable on the tax payable and not the total income. This collection also goes to the Consolidated Fund of India and can be used for any purpose.
The surcharge is a fee added to any tax that has already been paid. The surcharge is a term that refers to an extra fee or levy. Personal income tax (on high-income slabs and the ultra-wealthy) and corporate income tax are the two largest surcharges.
It’s worth noting that it only applies to the tax due, not the whole income.
Subject: Economy
Section: External Sector
Context:
Trade deficit already hit $188.2 billion as of March 21 this fiscal. At this rate, it’s expected to touch 19% of overall goods trade in FY22, compared with a record 24% in FY13, 23% in FY12 and 20.5% in the pre-pandemic year of FY20
Concept:
Reasons for trade deficit
- Post covid demand recovery
- Supply chain disruption due to covid
- Rise in logistics and shipping cost
- Ukraine crisis and economic sanctions
- Imported inflation and currency depreciation
Trade deficit trends?
India’s merchandise imports jumped to a record $589 billion owing to the rising oil prices, while exports till March 21 stood at $400.8 billion. Thus, meeting the export target of 2021-22 in seven days’ advance.
Concept builder:
Balance of Payments Balance of Payments (BoP) of a country can be defined as a systematic statement of all economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world during a specific period usually one year. For preparing BoP accounts, economic transactions between a country and the rest of the world are grouped under – Current account, Capital account and Errors and Omissions. It also shows changes in Foreign Exchange Reserves. Current Account: It shows export and import of visibles (also called merchandise or goods – represent trade balance) and invisibles (also called non-merchandise). Invisibles include services, transfers and income. The balance of exports and imports of goods is referred to as the trade balance. Trade Balance is a part of ‘Current Account Balance’. A current account deficit occurs when the total value of goods and services a country imports exceeds the total value of goods and services it exports. Capital Account: It shows a capital expenditure and income for a country. It gives a summary of the net flow of both private and public investment into an economy. External Commercial Borrowing (ECB), Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Portfolio Investment, etc form a part of capital account. Errors and Omissions: Sometimes the balance of payments does not balance. This imbalance is shown in the BoP as errors and omissions. It reflects the country’s inability to record all international transactions accurately. Changes in Foreign Exchange Reserves: Movements in the reserves comprises changes in the foreign currency assets held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and also in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) balances. Overall the BoP account can be a surplus or a deficit. If there is a deficit then it can be bridged by taking money from the Foreign Exchange (Forex) Account. |
Subject: Polity
Section: Panchayati raj
Concept:
What are Census town?
Census towns are areas that the census classifies as urban because they have more than 5,000 people, a density greater than 400 persons per sq. km, and 75% of the male working population in non-agricultural activities. However, census towns are governed by rural local bodies (RLBs) or Panchayats..
What is a statutory town?
A Statutory Town is one with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee. As per 2011 Census, there are 4,041 such towns as against 3,799 in 2001.
Benefits for states:
Conversions of Census towns into statutory ULBs entitle states to Central assistance as per the guidelines of Finance Commission. Under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), 50% weightage is given to the number of statutory towns in any State/UT in allocation of funds among States/UTs.