Daily Prelims Notes 29 November 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

29 November 2022

Table Of Contents

1. India’s SARAS radio telescope gives clues to Universe’s 1st stars & galaxies
2. Mumbai measles outbreak: What is the role played by lack of vaccination
3. Toxic air: Graded Response Action Plan announced for Kolkata, other Bengal cities
4. Red Planet Day: The many missions that brought humans closer to Mars
5. Beijing to launch 3 astronauts to its space station
6. China Indian Ocean meet
7. Nihangs are followers of Sikhism and are not a religion unto themselves
8. Perennial rice
9. Unsolicited commercial communication (UCC)
10. Cyber crime and laws in India
11. Incremental Capital Output Ratio
12. Financial Services Institutions Bureau
13. Centre allows ED to share info to more agencies

1. India’s SARAS radio telescope gives clues to Universe’s 1st stars & galaxies

Subject : Science and Technology

In the news-

• Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru said that in a first-of-its-kind work, using data from an Indian telescope, scientists have determined properties of radio luminous galaxies formed just 200 million years after the Big Bang, a period known as the Cosmic Dawn.

What was the research about-

• They used the Shaped Antenna measurement of the background RAdio Spectrum-3 (SARAS-3) telescope.
• For the study, SARAS-3,indigenously designed and built at RRI, was deployed over Dandiganahalli Lake and Sharavathi backwaters, located in Karnataka, in early 2020.
• Scientists study properties of very early galaxies by observing radiation from hydrogen atoms in and around galaxies, emitted at a frequency of approximately 1420 MHz.
• The radiation is stretched by the expansion of the universe, as it travels to us across space and time, and arrives at Earth in lower frequency radio bands 50-200 MHz, also used by FM and TV transmissions.

Why detection of the signal is a challenging task-

• The cosmic signal is extremely faint, buried in orders of magnitude brighter radiation from our own Galaxy and man-made terrestrial interference.
• So detecting the signal, even using the most powerful existing radio telescopes, has remained a challenge for astronomers.

Research findings-

• The results from the SARAS-3 telescope are the first time that radio observations of the averaged 21-cm line have been able to provide insight into the properties of the earliest radio-loud galaxies that are usually powered by supermassive black holes.
• This work takes forward the results from SARAS-2, which was the first to inform the properties of the earliest stars and galaxies.
• It has shown that less than 3% of the gaseous matter within early galaxies was converted into stars and that the earliest galaxies that were bright in radio emission were also strong in X-rays, which heated the cosmic gas in and around the early galaxies.
• SARAS-3 has been able to put an upper limit to excess radiation at radio wavelengths, lowering existing limits set by the ARCADE and Long Wavelength Array (LWA) experiments in the US.
• The analysis has shown that the 21-cm hydrogen signal can inform about the population of first stars and galaxies.

Challenges ahead-

• Constraints on the calculation of the masses of the early galaxies, along with limits on their energy outputs across radio, X-ray, and ultraviolet wavelengths.

What are Radio Waves and Radio Telescopes?

• Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum.
• They range from the length of a football to larger than our planet. Heinrich Hertz proved the existence of radio waves in the late 1880s.
• Radio telescopes collect weak radio light waves, bring it to a focus, amplify it and make it available for analysis.
• They help study naturally occurring radio light from stars, galaxies, black holes, and other astronomical objects.
• These specially-designed telescopes observe the longest wavelengths of light, ranging from 1 millimetre to over 10 metres long.
• For comparison, visible light waves are only a few hundred nanometers long, and a nanometer is only 1/10,000th the thickness of a piece of paper! In fact, we don’t usually refer to radio light by its wavelength, but by its frequency.

Shaped Antenna measurement of the background RAdio Spectrum-3 (SARAS-3) telescope-

• SARAS is a niche high-risk high-gain experimental effort of RRI.

SARAS aims to design, build and deploy in India a precision radio telescope to detect extremely faint radio wave signals from the depths of time, from our “Cosmic Dawn” when the first stars and galaxies formed in the early Universe.

2. Mumbai measles outbreak: What is the role played by lack of vaccination

Subject : Science and Technology

Context- 

• Despite Measles vaccine being under the Universal immunisation programme (UIP) the lack of a proper vaccination program in Maharashtra led to the spread of Measles in the region.

Universal Immunisation Programme

• The immunization Programme in India was introduced in 1978 as ‘Expanded Programme of Immunization’ (EPI) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
• In 1985, the programme was modified as the ‘Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) to be implemented in a phased manner to cover all districts in the country by 1989-90 with one of the largest health programmes in the world.
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India provides several vaccines to infants, children and pregnant women through the Universal Immunisation Programme.

About immunization-

• Immunization is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine.
• Vaccines are substances that stimulate the body’s own immune system to protect the person against subsequent infection or disease.

Vaccines provided under UIP:

• BCG
  • About-BCG stands for Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine. It is given to infants to protect them from tubercular meningitis and disseminated TB.
  • When to give – BCG vaccine is given at birth or as early as possible till 1 year.
• OPV
  • About-OPV stands for Oral Polio Vaccine. It protects children from poliomyelitis.
  • When to give– OPV is given at birth called zero dose and three doses are given at 6, 10 and 14 weeks. A booster dose is given at 16-24 months of age.
• Hepatitis B vaccine
  • About – Hepatitis B vaccine protects from Hepatitis B virus
  • When to give- Hepatitis B vaccine is given at birth or as early as possible within 24 hours. Subsequently, 3 dose are given at 6, 10 and 14 weeks in combination with DPT and Hib in the form of a pentavalent vaccine.

Pentavalent Vaccine

• About- Pentavalent vaccine is a combined vaccine to protect children from five diseases Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Haemophilis influenza type b infection and Hepatitis B.
  • Diptheria- A serious infection of the nose and throat that’s easily preventable by a vaccine. A sheet of thick, grey matter covers the back of the throat, making breathing hard.
  • Symptoms include sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes and weakness.
  • Tetanus- Tetanus is an infection caused by bacteria called Clostridium tetani. When these bacteria enter the body, they produce a toxin that causes painful muscle contractions. Another name for tetanus is “lockjaw”. It often causes a person’s neck and jaw muscles to lock, making it hard to open the mouth or swallow.  It can interfere with the ability to breathe, eventually causing death.
  • Pertussis- Whooping cough (pertussis) is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection. Before the vaccine was developed, whooping cough was considered a childhood disease.
  • Haemophilis influenza type b infection- Haemophilus influenza disease is a name for any illness caused by bacteria called H. influenzae. Some of these illnesses, like ear infections, are mild while others, like bloodstream infections, are very serious. In spite of the name, H. influenzae does not cause influenza (the flu).  Vaccines can prevent one type of H. influenzae (type b or Hib) disease.
• When to give – Three doses are given at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age (can be given till one year of age).
• Rotavirus Vaccine-
  • About -RVV stands for Rotavirus vaccine. It gives protection to infants and children against rotavirus diarrhoea. It is given in select states.
  • When to give – Three doses of vaccine are given at 6, 10, 14 weeks of age (can be given at one year of age).
• PCV
  • About-PCV stands for Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine. It protects infants and young children against disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae.
  • When to give – The vaccine is given in two primary doses at 6 & 14 weeks of age followed by a booster dose at 9-12 months of age.
  • In December 2020, India’s first fully indigenously developed pneumococcal conjugate vaccine “Pneumosil” was launched.

• fIPV
  • About-fIPV stands for Fractional Inactivated Poliomyelitis Vaccine. It is used to boost the protection against poliomyelitis (Polio).
  • When to give- Two fractional doses of IVP are given intradermally at 6 and 14 weeks of age.
• Measles/ MR vaccine
  • About- Measles vaccine is used to protect children from measles. In a few states Measles and Rubella a combined vaccine is given to protect against Measles and Rubella infection.
  • When to give– First dose of Measles or MR vaccine is given at 9 completed months to 12 months (vaccine can be given up to 5 years if not given at 9-12 months age) and second dose is given at 16-24 months.
• JE vaccine
  • About-JE stands for Japanese encephalitis vaccine. It gives protection against Japanese Encephalitis disease. JE vaccine is given in select districts endemic for JE after the campaign.
  • When to given- JE vaccine is given in two doses first dose is given at 9 completed months-12 months of age and second dose at 16-24 months of age.
• DPT booster
  • About– DPT is a combined vaccine; it protects children from Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis.
  • When to give –DPT vaccine is given at 16-24 months of age is called as DPT first booster and DPT 2nd booster is given at 5-6 years of age.
• Tetanus and adult diphtheria (Td) vaccine:
  • About- TT vaccine has been replaced with Td vaccine in UIP to limit the waning immunity against diphtheria in older age groups.

When to give– Td vaccine is administered to adolescents at 10 and 16 years of age and to pregnant women.

3. Toxic air: Graded Response Action Plan announced for Kolkata, other Bengal cities

Subject: Environment

Context:

• West Bengal environment department has announced a ‘Graded Response Action Plan’ (GRAP) to combat rising pollution in Kolkata and other non-attainment cities in the state like Howrah, Barrackpore, Durgapur, Haldia and Asansol.
• Non-attainment cities are those that are critically polluted and have fallen short of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for over five years.

Worsening air pollution in Kolkata and other cities of West Bengal-

• Kolkata’s average AQI was higher than Delhi’s on two days during the week: November 24 and 25.
• Exposure to very poor air quality may trigger “respiratory illness on prolonged exposure”.

Cause of increased air pollution-

• Surface temperature inversions, cool air being trapped closer to the surface with high pollution load, play a major role in deteriorating air quality during the winter when these inversions are the strongest.
• The pollutants from vehicles, burning, area sources, and industry get trapped near the ground during inversions, leading to poor air quality”.

GRAP model of west Bengal-

• West Bengal announced a 10-point “graded response action plan (GRAP)” to counter the surge in air pollution during this winter in Kolkata and other non-attainment cities of West Bengal.
• GRAP is a set of emergency measures that are imposed to prevent further deterioration of air quality, once it reaches a certain threshold.
• Stage 1 of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the ‘poor’ category (201 to 300), while stage 2, 3 and 4 are imposed when the air quality turns ‘very poor, ‘severe’ and ‘severe plus’.
• However, Bengal GRAP, as announced now, is not graded.
• The action plan includes:
  • Periodic mechanised sweeping and water sprinkling to roads, particularly at heavy traffic corridors and hotspots to suppress dust.
  • Ensuring disposal of dust and garbage in designated sites.
  • Stringent enforcement to stop the open burning of garbage.
  • Ensuring that demolition materials and waste generated from construction sites are properly contained; violator sites should be identified and closed.
  • Stringently enforce the prohibition on open burning of biomass and municipal solid waste.
  • Synchronisation of traffic movements for smooth flow of traffic.
  • Continuously monitoring the implementation of norms at the identified pollution hotspots in the city.
  • Strict enforcement of PUC (pollution under control) norms and taking action against visibly polluting vehicles with heavy fines.
  • Diversion of non-destined truck traffic and reducing 50 per cent of heavy goods vehicles except vehicles carrying essential commodities or providing essential services.
  • Strict action is also proposed against the bursting of banned firecrackers and use of non-compliant diesel generator sets.

Criticism of West Bengal’s GRAP model-

• The GRAP, announced by West Bengal was neither graded nor in tune with the forecasting base GRAP model presently being used in Delhi.
• On November 27, the AQI was found to be 241 (‘poor’) from 150 a week earlier, a whopping 60 per cent rise.
• The most toxic air pollutant — ultra-fine particulate PM 2.5 — was the trigger behind the AQI leapfrog.
• Proactively implement GRAP measures based on air quality forecasts, rather than retroactively implementing them once acceptable levels are breached.

Stages of GRAP and respective measures

4. Red Planet Day: The many missions that brought humans closer to Mars

Subject: Science and tech

Context-

• Commemorating the day one of the most significant space missions to Mars was launched, November 28 is marked as Red Planet Day.

More on news-

• On this day in 1964, the United States launched the space probe Mariner 4 on a course towards Mars, which it flew past in July 1965, sending back pictures of the red planet.
• This was the first time that a spacecraft undertook the first flyby of the red planet, becoming the first-ever spacecraft to take close-up photographs of another planet.

crucial space missions to the MARS-

Early 19th century-

• In the late 19th century, Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli claimed to have observed linear patterns on the surface of the planet that he called canali.
• This was mistranslated into English as canals, leading some to believe canals were built by intelligent beings on Mars — an early instance of Mars being thought to have life, similar to Earth.

1964: Mariner 4

• Mariner 4, after 8 months of the voyage to mars, send the images of  lunar-type impact craters.
• A television camera onboard took 22 pictures, covering about 1% of the planet.
• These photos were transmitted to Earth in four days.
• Mariner 4 lasts about three years in solar orbit, continuing long-term studies of the solar wind environment and making coordinated measurements with Mariner 5.
• The photographs also revealed a cratered surface resembling the Moon, although because of their limited range, they failed to cover the more geologically diverse features that we know about now.

Viking missions of the 1970s and the 1980s-

• The Viking missions (1970s) carried out the first chemical analysis of Martian soil, as well as four biology experiments to detect biological activity.
• In the early 1980s, scientists hypothesised, based on mineralogic composition and rock texture, that certain meteorites might have a source region in Mars.
• In 1984, a study showed that the isotopic composition of rare gases (Xenon, Krypton, Neon and Argon) matched the isotopic ratios of the Martian atmosphere measured by the Viking spacecraft.
• This discovery provided a way for geochemists to study Martian samples – and provided a huge boost to our understanding of the geochemical evolution of Mars.

Odyssey, 2001 and water on Mars

• In 2001, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer on board the Mars Odyssey spacecraft detected a fascinating hydrogen signature that seemed to indicate the presence of water ice.
• NASA’s Phoenix landed on the Martian North Pole in May 2008, and survived for about 150 days.
• The robotic arms of Phoenix scooped soil and ice from the surface, heated the material in eight ovens, and measured the composition of the gases with a mass spectrometer.
• The Phoenix mission established conclusively that the initial discovery of hydrogen by Mars Odyssey in 2002 was indeed water ice.

Beyond the West

• NASA has a lander (Mars Insight), a rover (Curiosity), and three orbiters (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey, MAVEN);
• India has an orbiter (Mangalyaan-1);
  • India’s Mars Orbiter Mission — a technology demonstration venture — carried five scientific payloads (total 15 kg) collecting data on surface geology, morphology, atmospheric processes, surface temperature and atmospheric escape process.
• the EU has 2 orbiters (Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter); and
• China and UAE will have an orbiter each (Hope and Tianwen-1 respectively).
  • The UAE mission will study the Martian atmosphere and will seek to address the question of how and why Mars lost its atmosphere.

About Mars planet-

• Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury.
• Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere (less than 1% that of Earth’s) and has a crust primarily composed of elements similar to Earth’s crust, as well as a core made of iron and nickel.
• Mars has surface features such as impact craters, valleys, dunes, and polar ice caps.
• It has two small and irregularly shaped moons: Phobos and Deimos.
• Some of the most notable surface features on Mars include Olympus Mons,the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System.
• The Borealis basin in the Northern Hemisphere covers approximately 40% of the planet and may be a large impact feature.
• Days and seasons on Mars are comparable to those of Earth, as the planets have a similar rotation period and tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane.
• Liquid water on the surface of Mars cannot exist due to low atmospheric pressure, which is less than 1% of the atmospheric pressure on Earth.
• Both of Mars’s polar ice caps appear to be made largely of water.
• In the distant past, Mars was likely wetter, and thus possibly more suited for life. However, it is unknown whether life has ever existed on Mars.
• Mars can be viewed from Earth with the naked eye, as can it’s reddish coloring.
• This appearance, due to the iron oxide prevalent on its surface, has led to Mars often being called the Red Planet.

It is among the brightest objects in Earth’s sky, with an apparent magnitude that reaches −2.94, comparable to that of Jupiter and surpassed only by Venus, the Moon and the Sun.

5. Beijing to launch 3 astronauts to its space station

Subject :Science and Technology

Context:

• China will be sending a three-person crew its under-construction space station

More about the launch:

• The spaceship will take three astronautse Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu to carry out the spaceflight mission.
• Fei Junlong will be the commander of the mission.
• The crew will stay in orbit for about six months, a period in which the construction of the low-orbit space station is expected to be completed.
• This is the third manned mission to be launched by China to link up with its space station.

What is the Tiangong Space Station:

• The Tiangong space station is a Chinese space station built in low Earth orbit between 340 and 450 kilometers above the earth.
• It is part of China Manned Space Program and is the country’s first long-term space station.
• The three module of the Tiangong Space Station are 
  • The Tianhe means “Harmony of the Heavens” is the core module.
  • Wentian means “Quest for the Heavens” is alaboratory cabin module.
  • Mengtian means “Dreaming of the Heavens” is a laboratory module.
• With the fully functioning of the Space station China will become only the third country in history to have put both astronauts into space and to build a space station, after Russia and the US.
• It is one-fifth the mass of the International Space Station

6. China Indian Ocean meet

Subject :International relations

Context:

• Recently, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), held a meeting of the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum in which 19 countries took part
• India was not invited to the meet.
• CIDCA is an organisation connected with the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

More about the meet:

• Theme: Shared Development: Theory and Practice from the Perspective of the Blue Economy.
• Participating Countries: Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti, Australia and representatives of 3 international organisations were present.
• India was reportedly not invited.

What Has Been Proposed:

• China proposed to establish a marine disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation mechanism between China and countries in the Indian Ocean region.
• China expressed its willingness to provide necessary financial, material, and technical support to countries in need.

What is Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA):

• The Indian Ocean Rim Association is an inter-governmental organisation aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region.
• It was formed in 1997 by an initiative of India and South Africa.
• The IORA has 23 members and ten dialogue partners.
• The members include Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South-Africa, SriLanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Maldives and Yemen.
• The ten dialogue partners are China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Turkey, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America

7. Nihangs are followers of Sikhism and are not a religion unto themselves

Subject : History

Context:

• Punjab and Haryana High Court while dismissing a plea seeking cancellation of the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) certificate granted to Punjabi movie ‘Masand’, and challenging its release said that ‘Nihangs are followers of Sikhism and Gurmat but are not a religion unto themselves and the attire given to them is traditional but it is not a part of religion,”  

What was the issue:

• The petitioner Ranjit Singh Phoola, who is the head of Nihang Singh Jathebandi group namely Tarna Dal Missal Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh Poohla.
• The petitioner had challenged the release of ‘Masand’ on the ground that it could hurt sentiments of those following Sikh religion and promote community hatred.
• The petitioner drew a parallel between the villain’s character in the film as shown in the trailer and the life of Jathedar Ajit Singh Poohla head of Nihang sect, Tarna Dal, who was murdered by some radical elements.

Who are Nihangs:

• Nihang is an order of Sikh warriors, characterized by blue robes, antiquated arms such as swords and spears, and decorated turbans surmounted by steel quoits.
• Originally known as Akalis or Akali Nihangs, are designated the Guru’s knights or the Guru’s beloved.
• The word Nihang has been used in the Guru Granth Sahib as well as other Sikh texts, it is translated as “one being fearless and unrestrained”.

When was the order formed:

• Their origin is associated with the founding of the ‘Khalsa Panth’ by the 10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, around 1699.
• The armed sect is believed to have emerged from the Akaal Sena, a band of soldiers of Guru Hargobind, the sixth guru.
• Later, the Akaal Sena metamorphosed into the ‘Khalsa Fauj’ of the 10th guru.

How were Nihangs different from other Sikhs and other Sikh warriors

• Nihangs observe the Khalsa code of conduct in its strictest sense.
• They do not profess any allegiance to an earthly master.
• Instead of saffron they hoist a blue Nishan Sahib flag atop their shrines.

What is the current status of Nihangs.

• They are today divided into several groups, each with its own “chhaoni” or cantonment but are loosely organised into two “dals” e  Buddha Dal and Taruna Dal, names initially given to the two sections into which the ‘Khalsa’ army was divided in 1733. 
• Anandpur Sahib, the birthplace of the Khalsa, remains the main center of Nihang gatherings.
• They assemble there in the thousands in March every year to celebrate Hola Mohalla, a Sikh festival introduced by Guru Gobind Singh

8. Perennial rice

Subject: Agriculture

Context: Farmers in China are now growing a perennial variety of rice which does not need to be planted every year.

Concept:

What is the perennial variety of rice?

Perennial rice are varieties of long-lived rice that are capable of regrowing season after season without reseeding; they are being developed by plant geneticists at several institutions.

Perennial rice—like many other perennial plants—can spread by horizontal stems below or just above the surface of the soil but they also reproduce sexually by producing flowers, pollen and seeds. As with any other grain crop, it is the seeds that are harvested and eaten by humans.

Developed by-Researchers at the Yunnan University and the first variety was released to the Chinese growers in 2018.

Name– perennial rice PR23

How-  by cross-breeding regular annual rice Oryza sativa with a wild perennial variety from Africa.

Feature-

• Higher production-6.8 tons per hectare, as comparable to regular irrigated rice
• Perennial-Unlike regular rice which is planted every season, PR23 can yield eight consecutive harvests across four years (as these plants with stronger roots grow back vigorously after each harvest).
• Cheaper– growing it is much cheaper since it requires less labour, seeds and chemical inputs.
• Other benefits– as per the journal Nature Sustainability–growing perennial rice over a period of four years resulted;
  • Environmental benefits such as soils accumulating close to a ton of organic carbon (per hectare per year) along with increases in water available to plants.
  • Drought resistance: Annual rice has a shallow root system and is very drought susceptible.
  • Resist weed invasion: Weed pressure has increased in upland rice systems as the fallow period has shortened.
  • Plant nutrition: While shallow rooted species, such as rice obtain most of their nutrients from the topsoil, deep rooted perennials can obtain a significant proportion of their phosphorus from the subsoil.

Rice;

• Oryza Sativa, it is believed, is associated with wet, humid climate, though it is not a tropical plant.
• Historians believe that while the indica variety of rice was first domesticated in the area covering the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas (i.e. north-eastern India), stretching through Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Southern China, the japonica variety was domesticated from wild rice in southern China which was introduced to India. Perennial wild rice still grows in Assam and Nepal.
• In India rice is grown under widely varying conditions of altitude and climate.
  • Rice cultivation in India extends from 8 to35ºN latitude and from sea level to as high as 3000 meters.
  • Rice crops need a hot and humid climate.
  •  It is best suited to regions which have high humidity, prolonged sunshine and an assured supply of water.
  • The average temperature required throughout the life period of the crop ranges from 21 to 37º C.
  • Maximum temp which the crop can tolerate is 40 degree C to 42 degree C.
• In India Rice is mainly grown in two types of soils i.e., (i) uplands and (ii) low lands.
• The crop of rice is grown with the following methods
  • Dry or Semi-dry upland cultivation– Broadcasting the seed, Sowing the seed behind the plough or drilling
  • Wet or lowland cultivation-Transplanting in puddled fields. Broadcasting sprouted seeds in puddled fields
• India is the world’s second largest rice producer, after China, and the largest exporter with a 40% share in global trade. 
• India is the leading exporter of the Basmati Rice to the global market.
  • The Indian states with the highest areas of Basmati rice under production are Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Western Uttar Pradesh.
• India’s leading producer of rice is fundamentally situated in states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Bihar.
  • These biggest rice producing states hold around 72% of India’s absolute rice producing region and offer over 75% of the all out rice production in the country.
  • West Bengal has the highest production of rice in India followed by UP, Punjab, TamilNadu and Andhra Pradesh.

9. Unsolicited commercial communication (UCC)

Subject: Governance

Context: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)  said it is working on various technologies to detect pesky calls and messages along with a joint action plan with other regulators to curb financial fraud.

Concept:

Unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) or pesky communication 

• UCC means any commercial communication that is neither as per the consent nor as per registered preference of the recipient.
• It does not include-any transactional message or transactional voice call; any service message or service voice call; any message or voice calls transmitted on the directions of the Central Government or the State Government or bodies established under the Constitution, when such communication is in Public Interest.
• It is a major source of inconvenience to the public and impinges on the privacy of individuals,
• In case a consumer uses his/her telephone connection to send promotional messages, his telephone connection will be liable for disconnection on the first complaint and his/her name and address may be blacklisted for a period of two years

Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations 2018-

• It replaced the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010 .
• It was issued by the TRAI to provide a revised regulatory framework aimed at regulating ‘unsolicited commercial communication’ (UCC) in India.
• It aims to create an ecosystem based on blockchain–to curb the menace of pesky calls and messages.
• The regulation mandates registration of all commercial promoters and telemarketers on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform and seeks customer consent for promotional messages at a time and day of their choice.
• The new regulatory framework has devolved control and regulatory powers to access providers, who are now required to establish their own codes of practice (CoPs) to deal with UCC.
• It also provides for the use of cloud-based solutions for handling complaints, the registration of headers and preferences, and use of smart contracts for automated allocation of roles between entities in the commercial communication ecosystem.
• The technology-based solutions are required to be tested in regulatory sandboxes under the oversight of the TRAI.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) 

• It was established on 20th February, 1997 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.
• Objectives of TRAI:
  • TRAI’s mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in the country.
  • TRAI regulates telecom services including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government.
  • It also aims to provide a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition.
• Headquarters: The head office of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is located at New Delhi.
• Composition of TRAI–The TRAI consists of a Chairperson, two whole-time members and two part-time members, all of which are appointed by the Government of India.
  • Tenure of Members: The Chairperson and other members shall hold their office for a term of three years or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
  • The Central Government may appoint one of the members of the Authority as the Vice-Chairperson of TRAI.
• Functions:
• The function of the TRAI is to make recommendations on the following matters:
  • Need for introduction of new service provider.
  • Revocation of license for non-compliance of terms and conditions of licence.
  • Measures to facilitate competition and promote efficiency in the operation of telecommunication services to facilitate their growth.
  • Technological improvements in the services provided by the service providers.
• The TRAI is also responsible for discharging the following functions:
  • Ensuring the compliance of terms and conditions of licence.
  • Ensuring the technical compatibility and effective interconnection between different service providers.
  • Laying down the standards of quality of service to be provided by the service providers.
  • Ensuring the quality of service and conducting the periodical surveys of such services.
  • Timely and officially notifying the rates at which the telecommunication services within India and outside India shall be provided under the TRAI Act, 1997.
• The recommendations of the TRAI are not binding upon the Central Government.
  • If the Central Government does not accept any recommendation of the TRAI or needs modifications, it refers the recommendation back to the Authority for its reconsideration.

10. Cyber crime and laws in India

Subject: Science and Technology

Context: Government upgrades IT equipment and infrastructure to check cyber threats

Details:

The move comes in the wake of a large number of cyber security incidents being reported by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).

Concept:

Cyber crime

• It is unlawful acts wherein the computer is either a tool or a target or both.
• Cyber crimes can involve criminal activities that are traditional in nature, such as theft, fraud, forgery, defamation and mischief, all of which are subject to the Indian Penal Code.
• Cyber crimes:
  • Computer as a Target :-using a computer to attack other computers–e.g. Hacking,Virus/Worm attacks,DOS attack etc.
  • Computer as a weapon :-using a computer to commit real world crimes–e.g. Cyber Terrorism, IPR violations, Credit card frauds, EFT frauds, Pornography etc.

Cyber crime control regime in India

• Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000) is the main law connected with cyber security in India.
  • Section 65 – Tampering with computer Source Document
  • Section 66 – Using password of another person
  • Section 66D – Cheating Using computer resource
  • Section 66E – Publishing private Images of Others
  • Section 66F – Acts of cyber Terrorism
  • Section 67 – Publishing Child Porn or predating children online
  • Section 69 – Govt.’s Power to block websites
  • Section 43A – Data protection at Corporate level
• A cybercrime complaint can be filed using the National Crime Reporting Portal of India-This portal is an initiative of the Government of India to facilitate victims/ complainants to report cybercrime complaints online.
• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN or ICERT)
  • The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN or ICERT) is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India.
  • CERT-In is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur.
  • CERT-In has been operational since January 2004.
  • CERT-In has been designated to serve as the national agency to perform the following functions in the area of cyber security:
    • Collection, analysis and dissemination of information on cyber incidents.
    • Forecast and alerts of cyber security incidents.
    • Emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents.
    • Coordination of cyber incident response activities.
    • Issue guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes and whitepapers relating to information security practices, procedures, prevention, response and reporting of cyber incidents.
    • Such other functions relating to cyber security may be prescribed.
  • CERT-IN has overlapping responsibilities with other agencies such as National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC).
• Indian Penal Code, 1860 is also used to book criminals connected with cybercrimes.
• India also has a cyber security policy.

11. Incremental Capital Output Ratio

Subject: Economy

Context: Article suggests steps to make our economy attain a high growth path.

Details:

• India’s Growth post 2011-12:

• Auto regressive integrated moving averages (ARIMA) studies point to a potential output of less than 6 per cent for 2021-26 of India.

Factors affecting growth in India–both cyclical and structural factors:

• Resource intensity-High resources intensity of consumables has led to the decline in the share of manufacturing value added to output from 25 per cent during 1983-94 to 16.6 per cent in 2019-20 and therefore cant invest in technology, innovation and compensation of skilled workers.
• Three Es — buoyant expectations, expansion in expenditure on investment and consumption and efficiency in use of resources.
  • Consumer sentiments in the medium term can be improved through stable policy regime, improving law and order, taking measures for ease of doing business, improving innovation, facilitating openness in the economy, including in trade regime, creating stability and predictability of tax regimes, developing and enhancing efficiency of infrastructure, solving problems of specified sectors improving labour force participation.
• Labor force participation ratio-A 5 percentage point increase in labour participation rate would increase GDP growth by 0.71 percent.
• Structural changes– like Demonetisation, GST and Covid.
• Fluctuations in growth patterns for industries–utilities, manufacturing and construction
• Service actor-Relatively stable growth in services partly because most of these are non-traded and hence insulated from global changes.
• Constrained capital formation-
  • Non-food credit (NFC) as ratio of GDP declined until Q4 of 2017-18 but increased later.
  • A longer period of growth slowdown from Q1 2016-17 can also be attributed to lower Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and Private final consumption expenditure (PFCE).
  • Net financing from the household sector increased from 21 per cent of total investment in 2011-12 to 45 per cent in 2020-21.
• Issues of the informal sector-difficulty in accessing resources
• Export growth in the entire period was less than the GDP growth, though it was volatile.
• Incremental Capital Output ratio (ICOR) is a surrogate measure of efficiency of the economy.
  • In the first phase of growth, ICOR was 4.51 and in the second phase, it reached 5.52.
  •  Formalisation of the economy and sectoral shift to services in general can lower ICOR.

Concept:

Incremental Capital Output ratio:

• Capital output ratio is the amount of capital needed to produce one unit of output.
• For example, suppose that investment in an economy is 32% (of GDP), and the economic growth corresponding to this level of investment is 8%. Here, a Rs 32 investment produces an output of Rs 8. Thus, the Capital output ratio is 32/8 or 4
• Another variant of capital output ratio is Incremental Capital Output Ratio (ICOR) -indicate additional units of capital or investment needed to produce an additional unit of output.
• This ratio is used to measure the efficiency of an industrial unit or country as an economic unit. The lesser the ICOR, the more efficient the organization.
  • Lower ICOR shows that only a low level of investment is needed to produce a given growth rate in the economy. This is considered as a desirable situation. Lower capital output ratio shows that capital is very productive or efficient.
  • High ICOR indicates an inefficient economic environment as a large amount of capital is being used to produce low value goods. The higher the ICOR, the lower the productivity of capital or the marginal efficiency of capital.

Structural reforms (structural factors):

• Structural reforms tackle obstacles to the fundamental drivers of growth by liberalising labour, product and service markets, thereby encouraging job creation and investment and improving productivity.
• They are designed to boost an economy’s competitiveness,growth potential and adjustment capacity.
• Typical structural reforms include policies that:
  • make labour markets more adaptable and responsive
  • liberalise service sectors, boost competition in product and service markets, specific sectors, or improve the overall business environment
  • encourage innovation
  • improve the quality of public taxation systems
  • address the challenges of population ageing on the welfare state.
• Example– In order to get out of the macro-economic crisis in 1991, India launched a New Economic Policy, which was based on LPG or Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation model.
  • The broad range of reforms under the LPG model included:
    • Liberalising Industrial Policy: Abolition of industrial license permit raj, Reduction in import tariffs, etc.
    • Beginning of Privatisation: Deregulation of markets, Banking reforms, etc.
    • Globalisation: Exchange rate correction, liberalising foreign direct investment and trade policies, Removal of mandatory convertibility cause, etc.

12. Financial Services Institutions Bureau

Subject: Economy

Context: A notification was issued to amend the Nationalised Banks (Management and Miscellaneous Provisions) Scheme, 1970.

Details:

• The present norms prescribe appointment for three years or till the age of 60 years, whichever is earlier–for the Managing Director and other whole-time directors of the public sector banks.
• The appointment can now be made initially for up to 5 years, which can be extended for the same number of years. Thus, the Central Government may, after consultation with the Reserve Bank, reappoint the Managing Director and other whole-time directors of the public sector banks.

Concept:

• Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) is responsible for the selection and appointment of the Board of Directors in Public Sector Banks, MD and CEO and Financial institutions.
• The Ministry of Finance takes the final decision on the appointments in consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office.
• The Government appoints Managing Directors from Whole-time Directors (WTD) of a public sector banks after vigilance clearance, etc.
  • The Names of these WTDs are recommended by the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB).
• A MD and CEO has key responsibilities and duties—required to establish vision, mission and values in consultation with the Board of Directors,  to set strategy and structure,  to monitor and control and to exercise accountability to shareholders and responsibility towards the stakeholders .

Mandates of Financial Services Institutions Bureau (Earlier Bank Bureau of India):

• FSIB is the single entity for making recommendations for appointments of whole time directors (WTDs) and non­executive chairpersons (NEC) at public sector banks (PSBs), public sector insurers (PSI) and financial institutions (FIs).
• It also advises the government on extension of terms and even termination of services of WTDs and NECs at the financial services institutions.
• The FSIB also recommends a performance appraisal system for WTDs and NECs at PSBs, FIs and PSIs
• FSIB  also advises the government on formulation and enforcement of a code of conduct and ethics for WTDs and NECs.
• It builds a database on the performance of PSBs, FIs and PSIs.
• The FSIB helps PSBs, FIs and PSIs develop business strategies and capital raising plans.
• The FSIB advises the government on the desired management structure at PSBs, FIs and PSIs.
• It  also advises the government on evolving training and development programmes for management personnel in PSBs, FIs and PSIs.

13. Centre allows ED to share info to more agencies

Subject: Polity

Context: The government has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to share information about economic offenders with 15 more agencies.

Content:

• The Finance Ministry notified changes to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
• ED which deals primarily with cases of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws, would be able to share data with a total of 25 agencies, including the 10 specified earlier – CBI, RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, IB, and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), among others.
• Now the new 15 agencies include National Investigation Agency (NIA), Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), State Police Department, regulators under various Acts, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of External Affairs, Competition Commission of India (CCI), National Intelligence Grid, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Defence Intelligence Agency, National Technical Research Organisation, Military Intelligence, inquiry authority under Central Civil Services Rules and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
• This change will integrate numerous state and central government agencies, empowering them with verified information related to an outlaw.

Concept:

Enforcement Directorate:

• It is a Multi-Disciplinary Organization mandated with the task of enforcing the provisions of two special fiscal laws – Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). 
• The origin of this Directorate goes back to 1st May, 1956, when an‘Enforcement Unit’was formed, in Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (FERA, 1947).
• In the year 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’. The administrative control of the Directorate was transferred from Department of Economic Affairs toDepartment of Revenue in 1960.
• The Directorate enforces two laws;
• FEMA, a Civil Law having quasi-judicial powers, for investigating suspected contraventions of the Exchange Control Laws and Regulations with the powers to impose penalties on those adjudged guilty.
• PMLA, a Criminal Law, whereby the Officers are empowered to conduct enquiries to locate, provisionally attach/confiscate assets derived from acts of Schedules Offences besides arresting and prosecuting the Money Launderers.
• The ED has its headquarters in New Delhiand has many regional offices all over the country.
• Composition– Besides directly recruiting personnel, the Directorate also draws officers from different Investigating Agencies, viz., Customs & Central Excise, Income Tax, Police, etc. on deputation.
• It is headed by the Director of Enforcement, who is an IRS officer (Indian Revenue Service).
• Other functions:
• Processing cases of fugitive/s from India under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.
• Sponsor cases of preventive detention under Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974(COFEPOSA)in regard to contraventions of FEMA.
• Special courts:
• For the trial of an offence punishable under section 4 of PMLA, the Central Government (in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court), designates one or more Sessions Court as Special Court(s).The court is also called “PMLA Court”.
• Any appealagainst any order passed by PMLA court can directly be filed in the High Court for that jurisdiction.