Daily Prelims Notes 28 December 2020

December 28, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes 28 December 2020

Table Of Contents

1. SWISS CHALLENGE

Subject: Economy

Concept:

Swiss Challenge method is one of the ways of awarding government contracts to private players.
Without an invitation from government, a private player can submit a proposal to government for development of an infrastructure project with exclusive intellectual property rights. Then government has two options with it:
Government can buy the intellectual property rights from the original proponent and call for a competitive bidding to award the project.
Government allows other players with similar capabilities to submit their proposals. If any proposal is better than the proposal of the original proponent, the original proponent is asked to match with the other proposal. If he fails, then it would be awarded to the best bidder.

Swiss Challenge method in India

Many states in India are using this method of awarding contracts for roads and housing projects.
Several states included it in their infrastructure development acts. The Draft Public Private Partnership Rules, 2011 allow the use of Swiss Challenge only in exceptional circumstances – that too in projects in rural areas or to BPL populations.
In 2009, the Supreme Court of India has approved the Swiss Challenge method for awarding contracts.

Advantages

Swiss Challenge method would encourage the private players to bring innovation, technology and uniqueness in development of projects. It will bring in cost efficiencies, cuts the red tape and shortens the project timelines.

2. ZERO COUPON BONDS: An innovative tool to fund PSBs and keep deficit in check

Subject: Economics

Context: The government has used financial innovation to recapitalise Punjab & Sind Bank by issuing the lender Rs 5,500-crore worth of non-interest bearing bonds valued at par.

Concept:

A zero-coupon bond is a debt security that does not pay interest but instead trades at a deep discount, rendering a profit at maturity, when the bond is redeemed for its full face value.
Some bonds are issued as zero-coupon instruments from the start, while others bonds transform into zero-coupon instruments after a financial institution strips them of their coupons, and repackages them as zero-coupon bonds.
Because they offer the entire payment at maturity, zero-coupon bonds tend to fluctuate in price, much more so than coupon bonds.
A zero-coupon bond is also known as an accrual bond.
The difference between the purchase price of a zero-coupon bond and the par value, indicates the investor’s return.

3. GOVERNOR’S ROLE IN CALLING AN ASSEMBLY SESSION

Subject: Polity

Context : Kerala Governor has turned down a request by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to summon a special sitting of the Assembly to debate the new three central farm laws. This raises questions on the role of a Governor and the contours of the powers he or she has under the Constitution.

Concept:

According to Article 174 of the Constitution “The Governor shall from time to time summon the House or each House of the Legislature of the State to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit”.
The provision also puts on the Governor the responsibility of ensuring that the House is summoned at least once every six months.
Although it is the Governor’s prerogative to summon the House, according to Article 163, the Governor is required to act on the “aid and advice” of the Cabinet.
So when the Governor summons the House under Article 174, this is not of his or her own will but on the aid and advice of the Cabinet.

Can the Governor refuse the aid and advice of the Cabinet?

There are a few instances where the Governor can summon the House despite the refusal of the Chief Minister who heads the Cabinet.
When the Chief Minister appears to have lost the majority and the legislative members of the House propose a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister, then the Governor can decide on his or her own on summoning the House.
But the actions of the Governor, when using his discretionary powers can be challenged in court.
A number of rulings by the Supreme Court has settled the position that the Governor cannot refuse the request of a Cabinet that enjoys majority in the House unless it is patently unconstitutional.

4. SANGEET NATAK ACADEMY

Subject: Culture

Context: The Chandigarh Administration has reconstituted the general council of Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Concept:

The Sangeet Natak Akademi was set up in 1953 for the promotion of performing arts. The Sangeet Natak Akademi is an Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Culture.

It acts at the national level for the:

Promotion and growth of Indian music, dance and drama;
Maintenance of standards of training in the performing arts;
Revival, preservation, documentation and dissemination of materials as well as instruments relating to various forms of music, dance and drama.
Recognition of outstanding artists.
The Akademi is also responsible for the establishment and maintenance of institutions and projects of national importance in the field of performing arts.

Sangeet Natak Akademi awards

Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Fellowships (Akademi RatnaSadsya) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) are two awards presented annually.
These awards are recognised as the most coveted national honours bestowed on performing artists as well as teachers and scholars of performing arts.
The award will be given to the eminent persons from the field of tribal music, dance, theatre and traditional folk arts.

5. THOUBAL MULTIPURPOSE PROJECT & ILP

Subject: Economy

Context: Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched several development projects in Manipur and also said ILP is the biggest gift by government to the state of manipur.

Concept:

He inaugurated the e-office and Thoubal Multipurpose Project (Thoubal Dam) in Imphal through virtual mode which will irrigate 35,104 hectares.
He also laid the foundation stone of projects, including the Churachandpur Medical College, IT-SEZ at Mantripukhri, Manipur Bhawan in New Delhi and the Integrated Command and Control Center at Imphal.

Inner Line Permit

It is a document required by non- natives to visit or stay in a state that is protected under the ILP system.
At present, four Northeastern states are covered, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland.
Both the duration of stay and the areas allowed to be accessed for any non native are determined by the ILP.
The ILP is issued by the concerned state government and can be availed both by applying online or in person

6. Street vendor scheme a hit, government plans next phase

Subject: Governance

Context: As part of the new drive, between January 4 and 22, over 10 lakh street vendors across the country who have availed of the Rs 10,000 loan will be trained in using digital payments.

Concept:

The ‘Main bhi Digital’ (me too digital )drive has been prompted by the success of the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbharNidhi (PMSVANidhi) scheme, launched in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown, to provide vendors microcredit.
Encouraged by the response to PMSVANidhi, the government has also launched its first-ever official socio-economic survey of vendors, to bring them under schemes such as the Pradhan MantriJeevanJyotiBimaYojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana, Jan-DhanYojana, Building and Other Construction Workers Act, Pradhan MantriShram Yogi MaandhanYojana, Pradhan MantriMatriVandanaYojana, and others.

PM SVANidhi

It is a special micro-credit facility plan to provide affordable loan of up to ₹10,000 to more than 50 lakh street vendors, who had their businesses operational on or before 24 March 2020.
The scheme is valid until March 2022.
Small Industries Development Bank of India is the technical partner for implementation of this scheme.
It will manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises.

Loans under the scheme:

Under the scheme, vendors can avail working capital loan of up to ₹10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments within one year.
On timely/early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy of 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on six-months basis.
There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan.

Eligibility:

The scheme is applicable to vendors, hawkers, thelewalas, rehriwalas, theliphadwalas in different areas/contexts who supply goods and services. Street vendors belonging to the surrounding peri-urban/rural areas are also included.

7. DIVERGENCE IN RURAL-URBAN INFLATION

Subject: Economics

Context: Rural-urban inflation divergence does not persist in the long run and converges over time, and both exhibit a long-term equilibrium relationship, said an RBI article.

Concept:

Rural-urban inflation divergence does not persist in the long run and converges over time, and both exhibit a long-term equilibrium relationship, said an RBI article.
This convergence of rural-urban inflation supports the relevance of one inflation target as nominal anchor at the national level.
It can be observed from monthly data that rural and urban all groups inflation have often diverged during 2012-2020, but the divergence has not persisted long, suggesting the existence of a long-run relationship between them.
The article noted that headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation witnessed significant and sustained moderation during 2012-13 to 2018-19, before rising thereafter. Both rural and urban inflation exhibited a similar trend with the only difference that urban inflation started rising from 2018-19.
It further said that in 2020-21 so far, headline inflation has firmed up further reflecting the impact of COVID-19 induced lockdown measures and associated supply chain disruptions. Rural and urban inflation, however, have displayed significant convergence, broadly mirroring the trends in food price inflation after April-May 2020.
The RBI said the views expressed in the article are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the central bank.

Reasons for divergence:

Different baskets of product consumed
Structural problems like infrastructure
Costlier food price
Fuel usage

8. Ducks die in large number in Kuttanad

Subject: Environment

Context: Although the exact cause of the death of ducks is yet to be ascertained, officials said that bacterial infection could be the reason.

Concept:

Kuttanad

Kuttanad is a delta region of about 900 sq. km situated in the west coast of Kerala State, India.
The area is a larger mosaic of fragmented landscape patches and varied ecosystems such as coastal backwaters, rivers, vast stretches of paddy ﬁelds, marshes, ponds, garden lands, edges, corridors and remarkably networked water ways.
The Kuttanad Below Sea-level Farming System (KBSFS) is unique, as it is the only system in India that practices rice cultvation below sea level.
The major land use structure of KBSFS is ﬂat stretches of rice ﬁelds in about 50,000 ha of mostly reclaimed delta swamps.
The rice fields, which are popularly known as “PunchaVayals” exist in three landscape elements: Karapadam (upland rice ﬁelds), Kayal (wetland rice ﬁelds) and Kari (land buried with black coal like materials).
Farmers of Kuttanad have developed and mastered the spectacular technique of below sea level cultivation over 150 year ago.
They made this system unique as it contributes remarkably well to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services including several livelihood services for local communities.
It is one of the three recognized GIAHS sites in India by FAO.
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) was started by the FAO to safeguard and support the world’s agricultural heritage systems.Three recognized GIAHS sites in India:
Kuttanad below Sea Level Farming System of Kerala.
Koraput Traditional Agriculture of Odisha.
Pampore Saffron Heritage of Kashmir.

9. AYUSHMAN BHARAT PM-JAY SEHAT

Subject: Government Schemes

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT to extend coverage to all residents of Jammu & Kashmir.

Concept:

The scheme will provide a financial cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family for in-patient care and surgical procedures.
Getting free treatment of up to 5 lakh rupees under this scheme would improve the ease of living. Right now about 6 lakh families of the state are getting the benefit of Ayushman Bharat Scheme. All 21 lakh families will get the same benefit after the SEHAT scheme.
Another benefit of this scheme would be that treatment is not limited to government and private hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir only. Rather, treatment can be availed from thousands of hospitals empanelled under this scheme in the country.

10. INDIA INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL (IISF)-2020

Subject: Current Events

Context: The 6th edition of India International Science Festival (IISF-2020) concluded with the valedictory address by the Vice President.

Concept:

IISF is an annual event organised jointly by science & technology-related Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and VijnanaBharati (Vibha).
The first and second IISF were held in New Delhi, the third in Chennai, the fourth in Lucknow, and the fifth IISF was held in Kolkata.
IISF is a festival to celebrate the achievements of India’s scientific and technological advancements with students, innovators, craftsmen, farmers, scientists and technocrats from India and abroad.

IISF-2020:

IISF-2020 was held from 22nd to 25th December, 2020 at virtual platform. This year’s theme for IISF was ‘Science for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Global Welfare’.
IISF 2020 is being organized jointly by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in association with Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA).
The nodal institution for science festival this year is CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS), New Delhi.