Daily Prelims Notes 29 December 2020

December 29, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes 29 December 2020

Table Of Contents

1. Maintaining 4% Inflation Appropriate For India: RBI Paper

Subject : Economics

Context: Maintaining 4 percent inflation is appropriate for India as targeting a lower rate could impart deflationary bias to the monetary policy, said a Reserve Bank paper.

Concept :

Under the current dispensation, the RBI has been mandated by the government to maintain retail inflation at 4 percent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
There is a steady decline in trend inflation to 4.1-4.3 per cent since 2014.
A target set too below the trend imparts a deflationary bias to monetary policy.
A target that is fixed above-trend renders monetary policy too expansionary and prone to inflationary shocks and unanchored expectations.
Hence, maintaining the inflation target at 4 per cent is appropriate for India.

Monetary Policy

Monetary policy is the macroeconomic policy laid down by the Reserve Bank of India.
It involves the management of money supply and interest rates. The central bank tweaks interest rates to achieve macroeconomic objectives such as liquidity, consumption and inflation.
Legal framework: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is vested with the responsibility of conducting monetary policy, explicitly mandated under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

Inflation Targeting by RBI:

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 4 percent (+/- 2%) Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation as the target for the period from August 5, 2016 to March 31, 2021.

2. Pneumosil: India’s first indigenously created vaccine

Subject : Science & tech

Context: Recently, Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) unveiled India’s first indigenously developed pneumococcal vaccine – Pneumosil.

Concept :

SII’s pneumococcal vaccine is developed through a collaboration spanning over a decade with the health organisation PATH and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Based on the trials, Pneumosil was licensed by the Drugs Controller General (India) in July 2020.
The vaccine also makes SII the world’s third supplier of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and the first developing country vaccine manufacturer to access the global PCV market.
It targets the pneumococcal bacterium, which causes pneumonia and other serious life-threatening diseases such as meningitis and sepsis, and is estimated to cause nearly four lakh deaths in children under five years of age each year worldwide.

Significance:

Will reduce under-five mortality: Pneumococcal disease is a significant contributor under-five mortality rate worldwide.
Significant milestone for the country’s and the world’s public healthcare: As the Serum Institute’s vaccines are used in 170 countries and every third child in the world is immunised with one of its vaccines.
Affordable: While PCVs have helped reduce pneumococcal deaths, they are difficult for many countries to afford. Pneumosil addresses the need for a more affordable option.

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine(PCV):

It prevents pneumococcal disease.
The vaccine is a mix of several bacteria of the pneumococci family, which are known to cause pneumonia. Hence ‘conjugate’ is included in the name of the vaccine.
Conjugate vaccines are made using a combination of two different components.

Pneumococcal disease:

It refers to any illness caused by pneumococcal bacteria. Pneumococcal bacteria are one of the most common causes of pneumonia.
Symptoms: Can cause many types of illnesses, including pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs.
Anyone can get pneumococcal disease, but children under 2 years of age, people with certain medical conditions, adults 65 years or older, and smokers are at the highest risk.

Status in India :

Incidence: 4.8 episodes per 1,000 children younger than 5 years (in 2010).
The top five contributors: In terms of the number of cases and deaths were Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand.
Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) was launched by the government in 1985, to prevent mortality and morbidity in children and pregnant women against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases – Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pneumonia and Meningitis due to Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib), Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Rotavirus diarrhoea.

3. Donald Trump signs into law Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative

Subject : International Relations

Context : American Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis recently introduced a Bill in the US House of Representatives that aims to promote the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Junior.

Concept :

The House Bill (HR 5517) has been moved to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi and affirms the friendship between the US and India.
Lewis had introduced a similar Bill (HR 3056) in 2011. It was called the, “Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative Act of 2011” and it focussed on using peaceful and non-violent methods in global conflict resolution.

Purpose:

The aim of this Bill is to affirm the friendships of the governments of the US and India and to establish a bilateral partnership, “for collaboration to advance development and shared values, and for other purposes”.
The Bill also proposes the establishment of a Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange initiative with an allocation of over million for five years until 2025.
It also authorises USD 2 million for just FY 2021 for the Gandhi-King Global Academy, and USD30 million for 2021 for the US-India Gandhi-King Development Foundation.
The new law also authorises the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish a US-India development foundation that would leverage the Indian private sector to address development priorities in India.

Who is John Lewis?

In 1963, Lewis was 23-years-old when he was being dubbed one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, during the years when the movement had reached its peak.
He decided to become a part of the Civil Rights Movement and since then has been a proponent of progressive social movements and a crucial defender of human rights in the US.

4. PM Modi flags off 100th run of Kisan Rail in Maharashtra

Subject : Current Events

Context: The 100th run of the Kisan Rail was flagged off from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal virtually. Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Piyush Goyal were also present at the event.

Concept :

Kisan Rail

It was announced in the Union Budget 2020-21.
This train will help in bringing perishable agricultural produce like vegetables and fruits to the market in a short period of time
The train with frozen containers is expected to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables
This train is a step towards realising the goal of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022 (Ashok Dalwai committee on Doubling of Farmers’ Income.)
Currently, of only a handful of trains plying across the India connecting states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Nagpur.
There are nine Kisan Rail running on nine routes.

5. Uttarakhand in talks to bring in white tigers from Madhya Pradesh

Subject : Environment

Context : Uttarakhand is in talks with the Madhya Pradesh government to bring white tigers to Nainital’s Sitabani Wildlife Reserve for a forthcoming tiger safari project.

Concept :

According to officials, if a few white tiger cubs from Madhya Pradesh could be made available for Uttarakhand, it will give a new dimension to wildlife tourism at Sitabani and to the tiger safari project.
Tourism Department officials are directed to chalk out a plan to promote tourism for the new tiger safari park.
To make it more attractive and exciting for the tourists, white tiger are requested from MP to the safari park.
The project is likely to be completed by November 2021 and will cost the state Rs 150 crore.

White Tigers

The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Bengal tigers, Siberian Tiger and man-made hybrids between the two
They are reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha in the Sundarbans region and especially in the former State of Rewa.
Such a tiger has the black stripes typical of the Bengal tiger, but carries a white or near-white coat.
The first white tiger was spotted in Madhya Pradesh’s Vindhya region, in which the Satna district falls, in 1915. The rare breed of the big cat, which was caught for the first time, died in 1920.

Sitabani Wildlife Reserve

Sitabani Wildlife Reserve falls in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand and has geographical and ecological characteristics of the Sub-Himalayan belt.
It comprises an entire hill of the Kumaon Himalayas and is flanked on three sides with dense Sal forest connecting it to the famous Jim Corbett National Park.
To the north, it is connected to the Oak and Rhododendron Himalayan mountain forests of Nainital forest division and the western boundary is etched by a sub-tributary of the Kosi river.
Broadleaved deciduous forest, riverine vegetation, scrubland, grassland along with gorges and ravines form a varied topography inhabited by rare wildlife.

6. Tendulkar wants ICC to relook DRS

Subject : Technology

Context : A series of dodgy decisions in the ongoing Boxing Day Test in Melbourne has left umpires under the scanner.

Concept :

Decision Review System

DRS is technology-based system used in sport of cricket for the sole purpose of reviewing controversial decisions made by on-field umpires as to whether or not a batsman had been dismissed.
The system was first tested in an India v Sri Lanka match in 2008. It was officially launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2009 during the first Test match between New Zealand and Pakistan.
Initially, ICC had made the DRS mandatory in all international matches, but later made its use optional, so that the system would only be used if both teams agree.

How does DRS works?

The DRS comprises a combination of several off-field technologies. Using these off-field technologies, the third umpire informs the on-field umpire whether to overturn or uphold their original decision.
Off-field technologies of DRS includes
footage from TV cameras placed around the ground;
Hot Spot, an infrared camera system that highlights parts of the bat and body that have been hit by the ball;
Hawkeye, a ball-tracking system usually used to check leg before wicket decisions; and
Real time Snickometre, a waveform of the sound captured by a stump microphone.

7. BANK INVESTMENT COMPANY

Subject : Economics

Context : The government is likely to set in motion the process of establishing a Bank Investment Company (BIC) to hold its stake in public sector banks (PSBs).

Concept :

BIC was mooted in RBI’s PJ Nayak Committee report in 2014.

Recommendations of the Nayak Committee regarding BIC

Scrapping and removal of Bank Nationalisation Acts, SBI Act and SBI(Subsidiary Banks) Act
Conversion of PSBs into Companies as per the Companies Act
Formation of a Bank Investment Company/BIC under the Companies Act; transfer of shares by the central government in PSBs to the BIC
BIC in turn would have over the controlling power to boards of PSBs
Government will only control earning return on investment
Fair return on investment to the Central government would be the responsibility of BIC
Appointments of CEOs, Inside Directors and top Executives of PSBs would be the responsibility of the Bank Boards Bureau constituting three serving or retired bank chairmans and the government would not be involved in this decision in any way
Nayak committee also recommends proportionate voting rights to all shareholders and reduction of governmental shareholding to 40%.

8. Sethusamudram ship channel project set to be beached

Subject : Economy

Context : Sethusamudram Corporation Ltd (SCL) is set to be wound up, bringing to end an ambitious maritime project that turned controversial over religious sentiments.

Concept :

The project was conceived in 1860 by Alfred Dundas Taylor
In 2005, the Government of India approved Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project
It is a proposed project to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka across the Palk Bay cutting across Rama Setu.
The project involves digging a 44.9-nautical-mile long deep-water channel linking the shallow Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar.
The channel would be dredged in the Sethusamudram sea passing through the limestone shoals of Ram Sethu.

Rama Setu (Adam’s Bridge):

Rama Setu is also known as Adam’s Bridge.
The 50 km long bridge separates the Gulf of Mannar (south-west) from the Palk Strait (northeast).
It is a chain of limestone shoals, between Pamban Island (a.k.a. Rameswaram Island) off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka.
The bridge starts as a chain of shoals from the Dhanushkodi tip of India’s Pamban Island and ends at Sri Lanka’s Mannar Island.

9. PORTULACA LALJII

Subject : Environment

Context : Botanists have discovered a new species of wild sun rose from the Eastern Ghats in India.

Concept :

The new species, named Portulaca laljii, discovered from Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh has unique features such as a tuberous root, no hair in its leaf axils, a reddish pink flower, prolate-shaped fruits, and copper brown seeds without lustre.
The flowers are very attractive and bloom for months from June to February.
The plant bears beautiful, tiny pink flowers for eight months. It is because of the succulent nature of tuberous roots that the plant can survive on rocky crevices.
Portulaca laljii has been named to honour the contribution of Lal Ji Singh, an eminent botanist of the Botanical Survey of India associated with its Andaman and Nicobar Centre.