Daily Prelims Notes 29 September 2021
- September 29, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
29 September 2021
Table Of Contents
- Lockdown Slowed Green Energy Push
- Ordnance Factory Board dissolution
- Promotion quotas for the disabled
- Green Crackers
- Zojila Tunnel
- Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs)
- Bhagat Singh
- Anti-defection law for independent legislators
- The burden of climate change on children born today
- Punjab’s desertification
- Human capital
- Heart failure due to genetic reasons
- Sorghum
- Elder Line
1. Lockdown Slowed Green Energy Push
Subject – Environment
Context – ‘Lockdowns slowed green energy push’ – IEEFA Report
Concept –
- The lockdowns slowed renewable energy installations in the country and the pace of such installation is lagging India’s 2022 target, according to a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a research think tank.
- As part of its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, India has said that it would install 175 gigawatts (GW) of green energy by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030 but only 7 GW of such capacity was added in the financial year 2020-21.
- A gigawatt is 1,000 megawatts
- Data from the Central Electricity Authority independently shows that India was to have installed 100 GW of solar energy capacity by March 2023 — 40¬GW rooftop solar and 60-GW ground-mounted utility scale. The country has managed to install only 43.94 GW till July 31, 2021.
- The IEEFA’s analysis shows coal stocks hit a new record high of 1,320 lakh tonnes at the end of 2020-21 and exceeded the monthly averages of the previous five years.
- Imported coal prices have been rising in the past few months because of resurgent demand after the pandemic — especially in emerging Asian markets such as China and India, but also in Japan, South Korea, Europe and the U.S.
Indian Energy Exchange (IEX)
- It is the first and largest energy exchange in India providing a nationwide, automated trading platform for physical delivery of electricity, Renewable Energy Certificates and Energy Saving Certificates.
- The exchange platform enables efficient price discovery and increases the accessibility and transparency of the power market in India while also enhancing the speed and efficiency of trade execution.
- The Exchange is a publicly listed company with NSE and BSE.
- IEX is approved and regulated by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and has been operating since 27 June 2008.
2. Ordnance Factory Board dissolution
Subject – Security
Context – Defence Ministry issues order for OFB dissolution
Concept –
- The Defence Ministry has issued an order for the dissolution of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) with effect from October 1 upon which its assets, employees and management would be transferred to seven newly constituted defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs).
- This would mean the end of the OFB, the establishment of which was accepted by the British in 1775.
- On June 16, the Union Cabinet had approved a long-awaited reform plan to corporatise the OFB, which has 41 factories, into seven fully government-owned corporate entities on the lines of DPSUs.
- Accordingly, with effect from October 1, the management, control, operations and maintenance of these 41 production units and identified non-production units would be transferred to seven government companies — Munitions India Ltd., Armoured Vehicles Nigam Ltd., Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd., Troop Comforts Ltd., Yantra India Ltd., India Optel Ltd., and Gliders India Ltd.
To know about OFB, please click here.
3. Promotion quotas for the disabled
Subject – Governance
Context – Deadline for promotion quotas for the disabled
Concept –
- The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to issue instructions “at the earliest and not later than four months” for giving reservation in promotions to persons with disabilities (PwDs).
- Section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, provides that “every appropriate government shall appoint in every government establishment not less than 4% of the total number of vacancies in the cadre strength in each group of posts meant to be filled with persons with benchmark disabilities …”
- In January 14, 2020 judgment, apex court confirmed that PwDs have a right to reservation in promotions. The judgement is famously known as Siddaraju v/s State of Karnataka.
About Siddaraju v/s State of Karnataka case
- In the case of Siddaraju v/s State of Karnataka, the Supreme Court affirmed the Reservation of Persons with Disability (PWDs) under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. In the given case, the decision given under Indra Sawhney’s Case was reconsidered.
- The Court was of the view that the basis for providing reservation for PWD is a physical disability and not any of the criteria forbidden under article 16(1).
- Further, the reservation of persons with disability has nothing to do with 50% ceiling. Therefore, the rule of no reservation promotions as laid down in Indra Sawhney has clearly and normatively no application to persons with disability.
To know about Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, please click here.
Subject – Environment
Context – SC lashes out at firecracker firms
Concept –
- In October 2018, the Supreme Court allowed bursting of low-emission crackers relaxing the ‘complete ban’ issued in 2017. Such ‘green’ crackers were researched and developed by scientists at CSIR-NEERI as per the court’s directions.
- ‘Green’ crackers have a small shell size compared to traditional crackers. They are produced using less harmful raw materials and have additives which reduce emissions by suppressing dust.
- Green crackers don’t contain banned chemicals such as lithium, arsenic, barium and lead. They are called Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL) crackers.
- Green crackers release water vapour and don’t allow the dust particles to rise. They are designed to have 30% less particulate matter pollution.
- QR codes on green cracker packages will help consumers scan and identify counterfeits.
To know more about green crackers, please click here.
Subject – Geography
Context – Gadkari reviews Zojila tunnel work
Concept –
- The 13.5 km tunnel will be Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel and will allow all-weather connectivity between Ladakh and Srinagar, which is disrupted during the winter months.
- It is located at 11,578 feet above sea level.
- It takes 3.5 hours to travel between Srinagar and Ladakh. The tunnel will reduce the travel time to 15 minutes.
- It is likely to be ready by September 2026.
- A connecting tunnel from Z-Morh on NH1 to the Zojila tunnel will be built in the Zojila Ghats between Sonmarg and Kargil.
- The Z-Morh tunnel — being developed at Sonmarg — will provide it all-weather connectivity with Srinagar allowing it to remain open to tourists all year round.
6. Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs)
Subject – Economy
Context – SEBI clears norms for gold exchanges
Concept –
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), approved the framework for a gold exchange as well as for vault managers, facilitating trading in securities tied to the yellow metal.
- The markets regulator’s approval for the proposals made in the Union Budget paves the way for gold exchanges to be set up for trading in ‘Electronic Gold Receipts’ (EGRs) like in the case of other securities.
- Existing stock exchanges will be allowed to provide the platform for trading of EGRs.
What is EGR?
- SEBI proposes issuing an electronic gold receipt in exchange pf physical gold (similar to equity shares), deposited with a vault manager (like a depositary participant) and this receipt can then be traded.
- The government wants India’s outsized influence in the physical market for gold to be visible in the financial market for gold as well.
- The denomination for trading the EGRs and conversion of EGRs into gold would be decided by the exchanges with the approval of SEBI.
- The clearing corporation would settle the trades executed on the exchanges by way of transferring EGRs and funds to the buyer and seller, respectively.
- EGR holders, at their discretion, could withdraw the underlying gold from the vaults after surrendering the EGRs.
- SEBI-accredited vault managers would be responsible for the storage and safekeeping of gold deposits, creation of EGRs, withdrawal of gold, grievance redressal and periodic reconciliation of physical gold with the records of depository. The vault manager would have to have a net worth of at least ₹50 crore.
- Exchanges would enable transparent price discovery, investment liquidity and assurance in the quality of gold.
Subject – History
Context – 28th September id the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh
Concept –
To know about Bhagat Singh, please click here.
8. Anti-defection law for independent legislators
Subject – Polity
Context – Jignesh Mewani, an independent MLA from Gujarat, has said he has joined the Congress “in spirit” as he could not formally do so, having been elected as an independent.
Concept –
- The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, popularly known as the anti-defection law, specifies the circumstances under which changing of political parties by legislators invites action under the law.
- It includes situations in which an independent MLA, too, joins a party after the election.
The 3 scenarios – The law covers three scenarios with respect to shifting of political parties by an MP or an MLA.
- The first is when a member elected on the ticket of a political party “voluntarily gives up” membership of such a party or votes in the House against the wishes of the party.
- The second is when a legislator who has won his or her seat as an independent candidate joins a political party after the election.
In both these instances, the legislator loses the seat in the legislature on changing (or joining) a party.
- The third scenario relates to nominated MPs. In their case, the law gives them six months to join a political party, after being nominated. If they join a party after such time, they stand to lose their seat in the House.
- The initial attempts at creating the anti-defection law (1969, 1973) did not cover independent legislators joining political parties.
- The next legislative attempt, in 1978, allowed independent and nominated legislators to join a political party once.
- But when the Constitution was amended in 1985, independent legislators were prevented from joining a political party and nominated legislators were given six months’ time.
Disqualification
- Under the anti-defection law, the power to decide the disqualification of an MP or MLA rests with the presiding officer of the legislature. The law does not specify a time frame in which such a decision has to be made.
- As a result, Speakers of legislatures have sometimes acted very quickly or have delayed the decision for years — and have been accused of political bias in both situations. Last year, the Supreme Court observed that anti-defection cases should be decided by Speakers in three months’ time.
9. The burden of climate change on children born today
Subject – Environment
Context – In a study published in the journal Science, researchers have found that children born today will be hit much harder by extreme climate events than today’s adults.
Concept –
- In a study published in the journal Science, researchers have found that children born today will be hit much harder by extreme climate events than today’s adults.
- During his or her lifetime, a child born in 2021 is likely to experience on average twice as many wildfires, two to three times more droughts, almost three times more river floods and crop failures and about seven times more heat waves compared to a person who is, say, 60 years old today.
- The study is based on data from the Inter-sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP).
Inter-sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP)
- This is a community-driven climate-impacts modelling initiative that assess the differential impacts of climate change.
What needs to be done?
- Limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by phasing out fossil fuel use.
- If countries are able to follow through with their climate policies as decided under the Paris Climate Agreement, this effect could be limited to 22%, which is just seven percentage points more than the global land area that is affected today.
Subject – Environment
Context – Two reports, 2 decades apart, predicted Punjab’s desertification in 25 years
Concept –
- The Punjab Vidhan Sabha committee, constituted to study water table depletion, has recently said that the state will turn into a desert in the next 25 years if the present trend of drawing water from underground aquifers continues.
- This is a prediction that has been made before – over two decades ago, a study on water table depletion in Punjab had projected almost the same time frame of 25 years, saying aquifers in Punjab could be depleted by 2025.
- According to Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) officials, the study was titled ‘The State of the World Report, 1998′, published by Washington-based World Watch Institute (WWI). It said Punjab’s aquifers could be depleted by 2025.
Why will the land of five rivers (now 2.5 rivers after the Partition of Punjab) turn into a desert?
- Out of 138 blocks in Punjab, 109 have already gone into the ‘dark’ or over-exploited zone, which means groundwater extraction is more than 100 per cent here.
- Two fall under ‘dark/critical’ zone (groundwater extraction is 90 to 100 per cent), while five are under semi-critical (groundwater extraction 70 to 90 per cent) zone.
- This means that around 80 per cent blocks of the state have already dried up and four per cent are on the verge of it.
Reasons for this scarcity:
- More water is being drawn than it is being replenished. The rate of water extraction in Punjab is 1.66 times against the rate of replenishment.
- Because of the adoption of a faulty cropping pattern. Paddy crop hampers water recharging because of the puddling method used to prepare fields for transplanting.
Subject – Economy
Context – At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Bank released the 2020 report of the Human Capital Index (HCI
Concept –
- The HCI is an attempt to measure investments and improvements required in health, schooling, and nutrition around the world.
- Human Capital is the productive capacity generated by an individual due to better education and health.
- Better productive capacity results in higher earning potential for individuals and also higher earnings for the nation.
- The HCI therefore measures the average shortfall in human capital for an individual worker in a country if they were exposed to full (i.e., optimal) education and health.
- The HCI has three components:
- Survival (a probability estimate that a child will survive up to age 5);
- Schooling (derived from the expected years of schooling and a
- harmonised test score from India’s National Achievement Survey, or NAS by the NCERT);
- Health (a composite of the fraction of children under five that are not stunted and the fraction of 15-year olds expected to survive till age 60).
- There is a positive correlation between HCI and per capita income, which signifies that higher per capita income is associated with higher HCI value.
- The human capital index is a measure of the aggregate or average shortfall for a particular State in terms of human capital if it is subjected to full capacity in education and health.
12. Heart failure due to genetic reasons
Subject – Health
Context – ‘Indians predisposed to heart failure due to genetic reasons’
Concept –
- According to experts, Indian men in the age group of 40-45 are more susceptible to heart failure.
- The World Health Organization says India reported 63 per cent of the total deaths due to non-communicable diseases, of which, 27 per cent were attributed to cardiovascular diseases, which also account for 45 per cent of deaths in the 40-69 age group.
- Indians are already predisposed to heart failure due to genetic reasons.
- Now, with smoking habit being more rampant in younger people, including women, cardiovascular diseases are becoming more common.
- Besides this, sedentary lifestyle and stress also lead to weight gain, which, in turn, increase the risk of heart disease. Diabetes is also a major cause of heart diseases.
- The other reasons are diabetes and increasing stress levels.
- Brisk walk and a good diet may help in preventing heart failure. Stress management is very important, and people need to be aware about their health. They should avoid smoking.
Subject – Agriculture
Context – Gene study shows how to get more out of sorghum without affecting natural resources
Concept –
- Genes that can increase the grain size of sorghum, a versatile grain crop used for human consumption, fodder and bioenergy generation, have been discovered, according to a new report.
- Bigger grain size can improve the usage value of the crop.
- The variety of the crop found in India is called jowar. It is said to have its origin in the country and is one of its most important food and fodder crops. Jowar has a dedicated All-India Coordinated Research Project since 1969.
- Sorghum plants are very hardy and can withstand high temperature and drought conditions.
- Larger grains make it more digestible for both people and animals and improves processing efficiency.
- About 80 per cent of the crop’s grain size characteristics depend on genes, and can thus be inherited.
- The quality of the yield can be improved without much alterations to environmental resources, such as water or nitrogen.
- The grain is popular across the world because it has a low glycaemic index, is gluten-free and nutritious.
- The lower the glycemic index of a cereal, the lower is the relative rise in blood glucose level after two hours of consuming it.
Subject – Governance
Context – ‘Elder Line’ rings in hope for senior citizens
Concept –
- India’s first pan-India toll free helpline – 14567 – called ‘Elder Line’ was officially launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- It aims to provide information, guidance, emotional support, and in cases of abuse, immediate assistance too.
- Senior citizens can call in to seek clarity on pension issues, legal issues and even facilitate rescue of homeless elderly.
- The intent of ‘Elder Line’, according to the Ministry, is to provide all senior citizens, or their well-wishers, with one platform across the country to get information and guidance on problems that they face on a day-to-day basis.
- According to the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India, India will have over 319 million elderly by 2050 compared to the 120 million now.