Daily Prelims Notes 3 December 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

3 December 2022

Table Of Contents

1. ‘360 m WhatsApp numbers from 108 nations leaked on dark web’
2. Regenerative Agriculture
3. Kashi Tamil Sangamam Programme
4. Coastal Red Sand Dunes of AP
5. First Sylhet-Silchar Festival
6. Third-party application provider (TPAP)
7. Price cap on Russian oil
8. Judiciary’s power to review a constitutional amendment
9. Maliparbat bauxite mine
10. Kanger Ghati National Park
11. DigiYatra facial recognition software
12. East coastal ports
13. World’s first intra-nasal vaccine for COVID

1. ‘360 m WhatsApp numbers from 108 nations leaked on dark web’

Subject :Science and Technology

Concept :

The dark net or dark web is an overlay network within the Internet which is not accessible through search engines, and where anonymous activities are carried out. For this reason, a market for illegal activities thrives here, including the sale and purchase of drugs, stolen data, hacking software, pornography etc.

Internet consists of three layers:

• The first layer is public (Surface Web), consisting of sites that one uses frequently such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and LinkedIn. This layer makes up only 4% of the entire internet.
• The second layer, the deep web, is a network where data is stored in inaccessible databases (i.e., cannot be accessed through traditional search engines like Google). It is used to provide access to a specific group of people.
  • The data is generally sensitive and private (government private data, bank data, cloud data etc), so kept out of reach.
• The third layer is the darknet which is also known as a part of the ‘Deep Web’. It is a network built over the internet which is encrypted.
  • It is basically a layer of the Internet accessible only by using special software like Tor (The Onion Router), or I2P, which stands for Invisible Internet Project.
  • Anything present on the dark web will not be pulled up in internet searches, thereby offering a high degree of anonymity.

2. Regenerative Agriculture

Subject: Environment

Context: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on “Climate Change and Land” listed Regenerative agriculture as a ‘sustainable land management practice’ that focused on ecological functions and “can be effective in building resilience of agroecosystems.”

Concept:

• Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farming system that focuses on soil health, food quality, biodiversity improvement, water quality, and air quality.
• It is a method of farming that improves the resources it uses,rather than destroying or depleting them.
• It is often also referred to as — agroecological farming, alternative agriculture, biodynamic agriculture, carbon farming, inclusive nature farming, conservation agriculture, green agriculture, organic regenerative agriculture and sustainable agriculture.
• Regenerative agriculture adheres to the following principles:
• Minimise soil distribution through conservation tillage
• Diversify crops to replenish nutrients and disrupt pest and disease lifecycles
• Retain soil cover using cover crops
• Integrate livestock, which adds manure to the soil and serves as a source of carbon sinks.

Benefits:

• Improves soil health through practises that increases soil organic matter, biota and biodiversity.
• Enhance water holding capacity and carbon sequestration.
• Reduces erosion, facilitates retention and nutrient cycling.
• Provides habitat for diverse species and is beyond sustainability.
• Builds resilience and mitigates the effects of extreme weather caused by a changing climate.

How is regenerative agriculture being different from other similar practices?

3. Kashi Tamil Sangamam Programme

Subject: Art and Culture

Context: Tamil learning books fly off the shelves at Kashi Tamil Sangamam as demand was seen both from Hindi speakers as well as Tamil-origin residents of Varanasi.

Concept:

• The objective of the programme is to celebrate, reaffirm and rediscover the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Kashi – two of the country’s most important and ancient seats of learning.
• This programme would be a part of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ initiative.
• It aims to provide an opportunity for people from all walks of life including scholars, students, philosophers, traders, artisans, artists etc. from the two regions to come together, share their knowledge, culture and best practices and learn from each other’s experiences.
• The programme has been devised based on the recommendations of the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS) or the High-Powered Committee for Promotion of Indian Language constituted by the Education Ministry.
• The endeavour is in sync with NEP 2020’s emphasis on integrating the wealth of Indian Knowledge Systems with modern systems of knowledge.
• IIT Madras and BHU are the two implementing agencies for the programme.

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat

• It was announced on 31^st October, 2015on the occasion of the 140^th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• Ministry/ Department: Ministry of Education
• Objectives:
  • To celebrate the Unity in Diversity of our Nation and to maintain and strengthen the fabric of traditionally existing emotional bonds between the people of our Country;
  • To promote the spirit of national integration through a deep and structured engagement between all Indian States and Union Territories through a year-long planned engagement between States;
  • To showcase the rich heritage and culture, customs and traditions of either State for enabling people to understand and appreciate the diversity that is India, thus fostering a sense of common identity.

4. Coastal Red Sand Dunes of AP

Subject: Geography

Context: Scientists urge Andhra Pradesh govt. to protect glacial-period coastal red sand dunes of Vizag to study the impact of climate change as it has seen both the glacial and the warm periods.

Content:

• The coastal red sand dunes is popularly known as ‘Erra Matti Dibbalu’.
• The site is about 18,500 to 20,000 years old and it can be related to the last glacial period.
• The uniqueness of this site is that the red sediments are a part of the continuation of the evolution of the earth and represent the late quaternary geologic age.
• With a height of up to 30 m, they exhibit badland topography with different geomorphic landforms and features, including gullies, sand dunes, buried channels, beach ridges, paired terraces, the valley in the valley, wave-cut terrace, knick point and waterfalls.
• The top light-yellow sand unit (estimated to have been deposited around 3,000 years ago) could not attain the red colouration as the sediments were geochemically unaltered.
• These sediments are unfossiliferous and deposited over the khondalite basement.
• The dunes consist of light-yellow sand dunes at the top followed by a brick red sand unit, a reddish-brown concretion bearing sand unit with yellow sand at the bottom. 
• The site also has archaeological significance, as studies of artefacts indicate an Upper Palaeolithic horizon and on cross dating assigned to Late Pleistocene epoch, which is 20,000 BC.
• This site was declared as a geo-heritage site by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in 2014 and the Andhra Pradesh government has listed it under the category of ‘protected sites’ in 2016.
• These sand deposits are rare and have been reported only from three places in the tropical regions in south Asia such as Teri Sands in Tamil Nadu, Erra Matti Dibbalu in Visakhapatnam and one more site in Sri Lanka.
• They do not occur in equatorial regions or temperate regions due to many scientific reasons.

5. First Sylhet-Silchar Festival

Subject: Art and Culture

Context: The first Sylhet-Silchar Festival celebrating the close cultural ties between the neighbouring regions of India and Bangladesh began in Assam’s Barak Valley on Friday.

Content:

• The festival underlines the commonalities between India and Bangladesh, specifically the Sylheti variant of the Bengali language and the Sylheti culture.
• The festival, which aims at boosting bilateral relations between the two nations, is being organised by India Foundation under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Culture in association with the Bangladesh Foundation for Regional Studies.
• The festival will bring together eminent people from both sides to discuss issues of mutual interest and it can showcase opportunities in the healthcare, tourism and education sectors.
• The event will commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence and 50^th anniversary of Bangladesh’s liberation from Pakistan.
• The event will showcase the cuisine, arts, crafts, culture and local produce which will further strengthen people-to-people connect between the two regions.

6. Third-party application provider (TPAP)

Subject :Economy

Background:

• NPCI in 2020 came up with a directive to cap the share of transactions a third-party application provider (TPAP) could process at 30 per cent of the volume of transactions handled on UPI, effective January 1, 2021, which is to be calculated on the basis of the volume of transactions processed during the preceding three months.
• The NPCI had proposed a 30 per cent volume cap for third-party app providers (TPAP). Currently, there’s no cap on volume and Google Pay and PhonePe hold the market share of about 80 per cent.
• The timelines for compliance of existing TPAPs who are exceeding the volume cap, is extended by two (2) years i.e. till December 31, 2024 to comply with the volume cap

Third-party application provider (TPAP)

• TPAPs refer to (API) are either standalone applications or applications that add functionality to an existing parent program / system.
• The UPI ecosystem is designed for banks. Only a banking entity can directly interact with the UPI switch. However, non-banking entities can participate by partnering with a banking entity which is already on UPI platform, and developing their own APIs referred to as third party apps.
• The role of these entities is more in the nature of facilitator for transactions as the entire operational and financial liability of transactions originated through third party app lies on the bank. There are over 20 TPAPs (eg., Google Pay, WhatsApp etc.) in UPI.
• A third party app sends a request to the linked banking application for permission to access the user’s bank details, which is further relayed by the banking application to the customer to authenticate the request.
• These apps provide flexibility and freedom to consumers to select solutions they find most convenient to meet their financial needs.This architecture balances regulatory safety and innovation as it combines the safety and trust of banking institutions with the informality and convenience offered by non-banks.
• In the payment space, third party service providers are primarily in the form of payment gateways, payment aggregators and TPAPs in UPI.
• Leveraging further on the system, a multi-bank model has been introduced for large TPAPs which allows them to tie-up with multiple banks to act as PSPs. As in the case of single bank model, the TPAPs provide only customer interface, while the transactions continue to be processed through the underlying PSP bank.

7. Price cap on Russian oil

Subject :International Relations

Context: The Group of Seven nations and Australia agreed Friday to adopt a USD 60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, acting shortly after the European Union reached unanimous agreement on the same price earlier in the day.

Concept:

Background:

• In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has proposed a price  cap with other Group of 7 allies as a way to limit Russia’s earnings while keeping Russian oil flowing to the global economy and to limit its oil revenues.
• The European Union also decided to impose a boycott on most Russian oil, its crude that is shipped by sea.

Objective of the price cap:

• To curb Russia’s  ability to fund the war in Ukraine and limit the impact on global energy prices, particularly for low and middle-income countries.
• To avoid a sharp oil price spike if Russia’s oil is suddenly taken off the global market.

Consequences of Russian oil price cap

• Insurance companies and other firms needed to ship oil would only be able to deal with Russian crude if the oil is priced at or below the cap. Most insurers are located in the EU or the United Kingdom and could be required to participate in the cap.
• If Russian crude were off the market that oil prices would spike, Western economies would suffer, and Russia would see increased earnings from whatever oil it can ship in defiance of the embargo.
• Russia has threatened to stop supplies to anyone participating in the plan led by the United States on the price cap of Russian crude oil.
• Russia, the world’s No. 2 oil producer, has already rerouted much of its supply to India, China and other Asian countries at discounted prices. A $60 cap would not have much impact on Russia’s finances as Russian Urals blend sells at a significant discount to international benchmark Brent and fell below $60 hence it will not affect the global price.

Impact on India

Russia has emerged as the third largest supplier to the energy import-dependent nation in FY23.India gets Russian oil at an average discount of around $15-20 per barrel on a delivered-at-place (DAP) basis, wherein the seller bears the transportation cost, insurance and risk for delivering at the designated port.

• Shipping, freight, customs, and insurance costs are not included in the price cap and must be invoiced separately and at commercially reasonable rate
• Indian refiners are already getting Russian oil at below price cap.Even for delivered crude, India is paying $15-$20 a barrel below Brent.
• India is now turning to Africa and the Middle East instead of Russia due to higher freight rates by diversifying its sources in order to ensure energy security.

8. Judiciary’s power to review a constitutional amendment

Subject :Polity

Context: Vice-President questions judiciary’s power to ‘undo’ a Constitutional amendment passed unanimously by Parliament

Concept:

Powers and limitation of constitutional amendment by Parliament

• Article 368 in Part XX of the Constitution deals with the power of parliament to amend the constitution and its procedures.It states that the Parliament may amend the Constitution by way of addition, variation or repeal of any provision in accordance with the procedure laid down for the purpose.
• Article 245 states that the powers of both parliament and states legislature are subject to the provisions of the constitutions. Any legitimacy of any legislation can be challenged before the court of law on that particular subject matter or if the law infringes any o f the fundamental right.
• Article 246(3) states that the powers of both parliament and state legislatures are subject to provisions of the Constitution of India.

Constitutional provisions that empower Judiciary to review the laws and amendments by Parliament

Judicial review

• Judicial Review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.
• Judicial review has two vital functions, namely: making the actions of the government legitimate, andTo secure the Constitution from any undue encroachment by the government.

Constitutional provisions 

• Article 13 declares that any law which contravenes any of the provisions of the part of the fundamental rights shall be void.
• Article 32 provides the right to constitutional remedies which means that a person has the right to move to the supreme court for getting his fundamental rights protected.
• Under Article 143, A constitution bench consists of at least five or more judges of the court which is set up to decide substantial questions of law with regard to the interpretation of the constitution in a case.
• Article 226 Certifies the high courts with the power of judicial review and to issue directions or orders or writs for the enforcement of fundamental rights or other objectives.
• Thus both the SC and HCs have the jurisdiction to question the validity of a constitutional amendment or a central law

Basic structure doctrine 

• The executive vs judiciary manoeuvres displayed in the amendments ended with the KesavanandaBharati case, in which the court had to settle these issues by the Basic structure doctrine .
• In India, the basic structure doctrine has formed the bedrock of judicial review of all laws passed by Parliament.
• The doctrine of ‘basic Structure’ has enabled the application of judicial review to Constitutional amendments involving Fundamental Rights also.
• This doctrine evolved in Kesavananda Bharati case, 1973. Parlaiment Can amend the constitution Under Article 368 but Such amendments Should not take away or violate Fundamental Rights and any law made in contravention with this rule Shall be void (Article 13).
• The court said that Parliament had vast powers to amend the Constitution, it drew the line by observing that certain parts are so inherent and intrinsic to the Constitution that even Parliament cannot touch it.
• The origins of the basic structure doctrine are found in the German Constitution .The original Weimar Constitution, which gave Parliament to amend the Constitution with a two-thirds majority, was in fact used by Hitler to his advantage to made radical changes. Learning from that experience, the new German Constitution introduced substantive limits on Parliament’s powers to amend certain parts of the Constitution which it considered ‘basic law’.
• The present position is that the Parliament under Article 368 can amend any part of the Constitution including the Fundamental Rights but without affecting the basic structure of the Constitution.
• The judicial review power of the judiciary is indeed a Basic structure of the Constitution and hence cannot be amended to take away the power from the judiciary

9. Maliparbat bauxite mine

Subject : Geography

Context: The  maliparbat villagers clashed with the district administration and Hindalco officials during a public hearing by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) at Kankaramba village on environmental clearances (EC) to the company for mining. The  next public hearing that will be presided over by the collector and the district judge, Koraput and the secretary, district legal services authority, Koraput will remain present as neutral observers for the event.

Concept:

• The bauxite mine at Maliparbat hill range is located in Pottangi tehsil of Koraput district of Odisha. The bauxite mined out from the Maliparbat mine will be used in existing Hindalco’s Alumina refineries located at Renukoot (Uttar Pradesh), Muri (Jharkhand) & Belgaum (Karnataka).
• The Nearest highway is  NH-43, the Nearest railway station Damanjodi ,Nearest airport Visakhapatnam Airport
• Some rivers in  the 5km range are Kukurhaghat Nala, Kunduli Nala,  Kolab River
• Hindalco Industries is one of the leading producers of aluminium in the country. The company business involves bauxite mining to alumina refining.Hindalco Industries was granted EC for an area of 268.110 hectares of Maliparbat bauxite mine in 2006.

About Bauxite –

• Bauxite is an important ore that is used for making aluminium. It is an oxide of aluminium. It is not a specific mineral but a rock consisting mainly of hydrated aluminium oxides.
• The deposits of Bauxite are mainly associated with laterites and occur as capping on hills and plateaus, except in coastal areas of Gujarat and Goa.
• Production of Aluminium from Bauxite: This industry is divided into 2 segments. The plants for obtaining alumina from bauxite ore, such plants are located near bauxite mines and plants for reduction of Alumina into Aluminium, such plants are located near the cheap source of electricity.
• Bauxite is primarily used to produce alumina through the Bayer process.
• Like many metals, world demand for aluminium, and therefore bauxite, has grown substantially over the past 10 years in response to economic growth in emerging Asian economies.

Distribution of Bauxite in the world

• The world bauxite reserves are estimated at 28 billion tonnes and are located mainly in Guinea (26%), Australia (22%), Brazil (9%), Vietnam (8%), Jamaica (7%), Indonesia (4%), Guyana & China (3% each).
• Australia continues to be the major producer of Bauxite and accounts for about 30% share in total world production, followed by China (25%), Brazil (14%), India (8%) and Guinea (7%).

Deposits of Bauxite in India

• There are abundant bauxite reserves in the country. However since they are located in heavily forested areas, inhabited by indigenous people; mining has been unable to start in these regions.
• By States, Odisha alone accounts for 53% of country’s resources of bauxite. The ranking of states in terms of bauxite resources is as following

1. Odisha (53%)
2. Andhra Pradesh (16%)
3. Gujarat (8%)
4. Jharkhand (5%)
5. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh (4% each).

10. Kanger Ghati National Park

Subject: Environment  

Context: Bird watchers and forest department officials counted 200 types of birds in Chhattisgarh’s first-ever inter-state bird survey conducted in the Kanger Valley National Park

Concept:

Kanger Ghati National Park (also called Kanger Valley National Park) in Chhattisgarh state  was declared a national park in 1982 by the Government of India

Terrain:

• It is one of India’s densest national parks
• The total area of the national park is 200.00 km2 (77.22 sq mi). The valley starting from the Tirathgarh waterfalls to the Kolab River (Odisha State boundary)
• The park is Valley of Kanger River. The river flows from NW to SE direction centrally through deep gorges
• The national park comprises two ranges viz: Kotamsar(in the west) and Koleng Ranges(in the east)
• There are 48 villages within 5 km radius of national park boundary and only one forest village (Kotamsar) is inside the national park
• The national park is known for the long subterranean geomorphological limestone caves. These are Kotamsar cave, Kailash Cave, Dandak Cave, Devgiri Cave. 

Flora and Fauna

• The flora in the park consists chiefly of mixed moist deciduous type of forests with predominance of sal, teak and bamboo trees. 
• It is home of the Bastar hill myna, the state bird of Chhattisgarh.Other avian fauna at the park includes spotted owlet, red jungle fowl, racket-tailed drongos, steppe eagles, red spurfowl, phakta, bhura teeter, tree pie and heron
• Kariya Ama Nallah is a perennial marshy belt and is ideal habitat for the wild boar, sloth bear, chital, leopard and tiger,Chital, barking deer, and panther are mainly found in this marshy area.
• Other Major wildlife of the Kanger Valley National Park are tigers, leopards, mouse deer, chital, sambar, barking deer, langurs, flying squirrel, wild boar, striped hyena, pythons crocodiles, monitor lizards and snakes.

11. DigiYatra facial recognition software

Subject :Government Schemes

Context:  The government has introduced paperless entry at select airports to make air travel hassle-free. Under this initiative, airports will use a facial recognition software called ‘DigiYatra’ for entry.

Concept:

• To make air travel hassle-free airports will use a facial recognition software called ‘DigiYatra’ for entry under digi Yatra initiative
• It envisages that travelers pass through various checkpoints at the airport through paperless and contactless processing, using facial features to establish their identity, which would be linked to the boarding pass.

 How it works?

• A passenger has to register their details on the DigiYatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and a self image capture.
• At the airport e-gate, the passenger has to first scan the bar coded boarding pass and the facial recognition system installed at the e-gate will validate the passenger’s identity and travel document.
• Once this process is done, the passenger will have to follow the normal procedure to clear security and board the aircraft.

 Advantages:

• It makes flying more convenient and reduces congestion at airports.
• With this technology, the entry of passengers would be automatically processed based on the facial recognition system at all checkpoints – including entry into the airport, security check areas, aircraft boarding, etc.

Project implementation:

• The project is being implemented by the DigiYatra Foundation — a joint-venture company whose shareholders are the Airports Authority of India (26% stake) and Bengaluru Airport, Delhi Airport, Hyderabad Airport, Mumbai Airport and Cochin International Airport hold the remaining 74% of the shares.
• In the first phase, the initiative will be launched at seven airports, starting with three —Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi, followed by four airports namely Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada by March 2023.
• The facial recognition system at various airports across the globe, including Dubai, Singapore, Atlanta and Narita (Japan), have helped bring in efficiency.

12. East coastal ports

Subject :Geography

Context: Adani’s presence in the East Coast stretches right from Dhamra in Odisha to Katupalli in Chennai with Karaikal port to be added to the list.

Concept:

The sequence of ports from north to south in th eastern coast are as follows:

1. Dhamra port – Odisha (45 mtpa capacity): The port is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Adani Ports and SEZ.The port operates in north of the mouth of river Dhamra in Bhadrak district on BOOST (Build, Own, Operate, Share and Transfer) basis for a total period of 34 years including a period of 4 years for construction.There is a concern that the deepwater port will further damage the mangroves, including those at the nearby Bhitarkanika Mangroves conservation area.
2. Gangavaram Port – Andhra Pradesh (64 mtpa): located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.It was inaugurated in July 2009.The port is located where Borramma Gedda river joins the sea.It has a depth of 21m.
3. Krishnapatnam Port – Andhra Pradesh (64 mtpa): It is a privately built and owned all weather, deep water port on the east coast of India, located in the Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. It is located about 190 km north of the Chennai Port and 18 km east of the city of Nellore.The port has its history back to Vijayanagar Emperor, when Sri Krishnadevaraya used to operate it. The hinterland of the port includes southern and central Andhra Pradesh, eastern Karnataka, northern Tamil Nadu and Eastern Maharashtra.
4. Kattupalli Port – Tamil Nadu (18 mtpa):The multi-cargo port located near Ennore  North Chennai has a dedicated yard for Direct Port Delivery clearance, Direct Port Entry for factory stuffed/self-sealed export-laden containers and flexible carting.
5. Ennore Terminal – Tamil Nadu (12 mtpa): Adani Ennore Container Terminal (AECT) container terminal is 30 km north of Chennai Port, offers 24×7 congestion-free approach roads for seamless cargo movement and on-dock rail siding services to various hinterlands, including
6. Karaikal Port – Puducherry (over 10 mtpa): Karaikal port is an all-weather deep water port developed in Build, Operate and Transfer format under Public Private Partnership. Commissioned in April 2009 and developed in an area of 600 acres. The port is located on the Eastern coast of India in Karaikal around 300 km south of Chennai Port and around 360 km north of Tuticorin Port.

13. World’s first intra-nasal vaccine for COVID

Subject :Science and Technology

Context: World’s first intra-nasal vaccine for COVID developed by India has got approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for restricted use in emergency situations in the age group of 18 and above.

Concept:

• iNCOVACC is the world’s first Intranasal vaccine for COVID developed by India to receive approval for the primary 2-dose schedule and the heterologous booster dose.
• iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This vaccine candidate was evaluated in phases I, II, and III clinical trials with successful results.
• iNCOVACC has been specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery through nasal drops.
• iNCOVACC was developed in partnership with Washington University, St. Louis, which had earlier designed and developed the recombinant adenoviral vector construct and evaluated it in preclinical studies for efficacy.
• Clinical trials were conducted to evaluate iNCOVACC as a primary dose schedule and as a heterologous booster dose for subjects who have previously received two doses of the two commonly administered COVID vaccines in India.
• Washington University licensed the vaccine technology to Bharat Biotech in 2020 for further development.
• iNCOVACC has the double benefit of enabling faster development of variant-specific vaccines and easy nasal delivery that enables mass immunization to protect from emerging variants of concern.
• The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries.