Daily Prelims Notes 27 July 2020

July 27, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

No Comments

Table Of Contents

1. Assam floods

Subject: Geography

Context:

In Assam, over 24.68 lakh people affected and death toll rises to 102

Concept:

Apart from incessant rainfall during the monsoon, there are many contributory factors to yealy floods in Assam
Major cause is the very nature of the river Brahmaputra —dynamic and unstable.
The Brahmaputra features among the world’s top five rivers in terms of discharge as well as the sediment it brings.
At 19,830 cubic meters per second (cumec), it ranks fourth in discharge at the mouth, behind only the Amazon (99,150 cumec), the Congo (39,660 cumec) and the Yangtze (21,800 cumec).
In terms of sediment yield, two spots along the Brahmaputa’s course were at second and third places in 2008. Brahmaputra’s annual sediment yield was 1,128 tonnes per sq km at Bahadurabad of Bangladesh, and 804 tonnes per sq km at Pandu of Guwahati.

Source: Indian express

The vast amount of sediment comes from Tibet, where the region is cold, arid and lacks plantation. Glaciers melt, soil erodes and all of it results in a highly sedimented river.
As the river comes from a high slope to a flat plain, its velocity decreases suddenly and this results in the river unloading the sediment. The river’s channels prove inadequate amid this siltation, leading to floods.
Again, because of the earthquake-prone nature of the region, the river has not been able to acquire a stable character.
Besides these natural factors are the man-made ones habitation, deforestation, population growth in catchment areas which lead to higher sedimentation. For example, the sediment deposition itself creates temporary sandbars or river islands.

2. Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

Russia is going to deploy Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile on surface ships

Concept:

Cruise missiles differ from ballistic missiles in that they fly towards their target at lower altitudes, remaining within the Earth’s atmosphere throughout their trajectory.
Cruise missiles are defined as “an unmanned self-propelled guided vehicle that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path and whose primary mission is to place an ordnance or special payload on a target.”
The hallmark of a cruise missile is its incredible accuracy. Cruise missiles are also very effective at evading detection by the enemy because they fly very low to the ground (out of the view of most radar systems).
Cruise missiles can use multiple guidance methods in order to accurately place their ordinance on the desired target and avoid missile defense systems
Cruise missiles can be categorized by size, speed (subsonic or supersonic), and range, and whether launched from land, air, surface ship, or submarine.

3. Floor Test

Subject: Polity

Context:

Rajasthan cabinet wants to have assembly session to prove majority.

Concept:

A floor test is a motion initiated by the government seeking to know if it enjoys the confidence of the legislature.
As part of this procedure, the chief minister appointed by the governor will be asked to prove majority on the Legislative Assembly.
When a floor test is called for in the assembly of a state, the chief minister will move a vote of confidence and prove that he has the majority support.
If the floor test fails, fails, the government will have to resign.

4. Monetary Policy Committee

Subject: Economy

Context:

Monetary policy committee is soon to be reconstituted as the terms of three independent people on the panel expire at the end of next month and one internal member retired in June.

Concept:

Monetary policy refers to the use of monetary instruments under the control of the central bank to regulate magnitudes such as interest rates, money supply and availability of credit with a view to achieving the ultimate objective of economic policy

What is Monetary Policy Committee?

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) constituted by the Central Government under Section 45ZB of RBI Act determines the policy interest rate required to achieve the inflation target.
Accordingly, the Central Government in September 2016 constituted the MPC as under Governor of the Reserve Bank of India – Chairperson, ex officio;
The primary objective of monetary policy is to maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth. Price stability is a necessary precondition to sustainable growth.
In May 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934 was amended to provide a statutory basis for the implementation of the flexible inflation targeting framework.
The amended RBI Act also provides for the inflation target to be set by the Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank, once in every five years.
Accordingly, the Central Government has notified in the Official Gazette 4 per cent Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation as the target for the period from August 5, 2016 to March 31, 2021 with the upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent and the lower tolerance limit of 2 per cent.
The MPC is required to meet at least four times in a year.
The composition of the MPC is as follows;
Governor of the Reserve Bank of India – Chairperson, ex officio;
Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, in charge of Monetary Policy –
(Member, ex officio)
One officer of the Reserve Bank of India to be nominated by the Central Board – Member, ex officio;
Except ex-officio members, three independent members will hold the office for a period of 4 years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The quorum for the meeting of the MPC is four members. Each member of the MPC has one vote, and in the event of an equality of votes, the Governor has a second or casting vote.

5. Remittances to fall

Subject: Economy

Context:

According to a global banking group, remittances to India are estimated to decline sharply by about 25 per cent in FY2021 amid the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.

Concept:

India is the largest recipient of remittances (in value terms) in the worId and received nearly $76 billion of flows (2.7 per cent of GDP) in FY20.
These flows help boost household income, support private consumption and add stability to current account balance (CAB).
Many Indians working in the Gulf region had recently lost jobs and more layoffs are in the offing as lockdown and the decline in global trade are set to hit the global economic growth.
Kerala, which is one of the largest recipients of remittances in India is expected to witness a decline in remittances.
The projected fall, which would be the sharpest decline in recent history, is largely due to a fall in the wages and employment of migrant workers, who tend to be more vulnerable to loss of employment and wages during an economic crisis in a host country.

6. CDSCO

Subject: Government organisation

Context:

CDSCO is likely to take up Serum Institute of India’s (SII) request to start human trials for AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India this month.

Concept:

CDSCO under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India.
The Drugs & Cosmetics Act,1940 and rules 1945 have entrusted various responsibilities to central & state regulators for regulation of drugs & cosmetics.
CDSCO is constantly thriving upon to bring out transparency, accountability and uniformity in its services in order to ensure safety, efficacy and quality of the medical product manufactured, imported and distributed in the country.
Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations by providing expert advice.
Drug Controller General of India within CDSCO is responsible for approval of licenses of specified categories of Drugs such as blood and blood products, I. V. Fluids, Vaccine and Sera

7. Unnat Bharat Abhiyan

Subject: Schemes

Context:

TRIFED has entered into a partnership with IIT Delhi for the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) by which forest dwellers will get an exposure to newer processing technologies, product innovation, mentorship, transformational digital systems and handholding.

Concept:

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) is a flagship national programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) envisioning the transformational change in rural development processes
The knowledge base and resources of the Premier Institutions of the country are to be leveraged to bring in transformational change in rural developmental process.
It also aims to create a vibrant relationship between the society and the higher educational institutes, with the latter providing the knowledge and technology support to improve the livelihoods in rural areas and to upgrade the capabilities of both the public and private organisations in the society.

8. Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation

Subject: IR

Context:

India and European Union have renewed its Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation for the next five years (2020-2025) at the 15th India-EU Summit, a virtual one.

Concept:

The Agreement was initially signed in on 23 November 2001 and renewed two times in past in 2007 and 2015.
This will expand the cooperation in scientific and technological research; strengthen the conduct of cooperative activities in areas of common interest and application of the results of such cooperation to their economic and social benefit.
India and European Union have strong research and innovation cooperation under the framework of said “Agreement,” and it has grown steadily over the years.
In the last 5 years, the level of co-investment on India-EU Research Technology Development Projects for addressing societal challenges such as affordable healthcare, water, energy, food & nutrition has been stepped up resulted in several technologies, patents development, their gainful utilization, joint research publications, sharing of research facility and, exchange of scientists and students from both sides.
The cooperation has been focused on water, green transport, e-mobility, clean energy, circular economy, bio-economy, health, and ICT.
Additional areas, such as climate change, sustainable urban development, manufacturing, advanced materials, nanotechnologies and biotechnology, food processing, and ocean research may also be considered in future endeavours.
The EU and India are at the forefront of human development and innovation.
For India, addressing the basic needs of its people, including through frugal innovation, and excelling in high-tech markets are twin objectives.
Both areas offer mutually beneficial opportunities for EU-India cooperation. Increased exchanges between students, researchers, and professionals would benefit both sides. India and the EU share a mutual interest in reciprocal mobility of talent.