Daily Prelims Notes 30 December 2020

December 30, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes 30 December 2020

Table Of Contents

Subject: National Organisations

Context: Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan launched the ‘Digital Ocean’ platform of Indian National Centre for Oceanic Information Services (INCOIS).

Concept:

Digital Ocean Platform

It will act as a one stop-solution for all data related needs of a wide range of users, including research institutions, operational agencies, strategic users, academic community, maritime industry, and the public.
It will facilitate an online interactive web-based environment for data integration, 3D and 4D data visualization, data analysis to assess the evolution of oceanographic features obtained from multiple sources like on site monitoring devices, remote sensing and model data.

INCOIS

INCOIS is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
It is located in Hyderabad & was established in 1999.
It is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO), New Delhi.
It is mandated to provide the best possible ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community through sustained ocean observations and constant improvement through systematic and focused research.

Services Offered by INCOIS

Potential Fishing Zone Advisory Services
Ocean and Coastal State Forecast
Early Warning System for Tsunami and Storm Surges
Ocean Modelling
Satellite Coastal and oceanographic Research
National and Regional Oceanographic Data Centre
Coastal Geospatial Applications
Indian Ocean Global Ocean Observing System

Global Cooperation

ESSO-INCOIS has a prominent international presence, being a permanent member of the Indian delegation to IOC(International Oceanographic Commission) of UNESCO
Founding member of the Indian Ocean Global Ocean Observing System (IOGOOS) and the Partnership for Observing the Oceans (POGO) which is actively engaged in capacity building and international exchange of students and researchers.
ESSO-INCOIS houses the IOGOOS secretariat and the Sustained Indian Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (SIBER) International Programme Office.
Through the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES), ESSO-INCOIS provides ocean information and forecasts to member countries.

2. Rhino DNA INDEXING SYSTEM

Subject : Environment

Context : Cases of poaching of rhinoceroses have come down drastically in South Africa ever since it implemented its Rhino Database as part of its conservation efforts. DNA tracing has allowed for conviction rates to rise sharply.

Indian researchers planning a similar system for the animal in the country’s jungles is welcome.

Concept :

The project is part of the Rhino DNA Indexing System (RhODIS- India) conservation programme started a couple of years ago.
Wildlife agencies elsewhere have been using modelling techniques to determine routes that poachers can take and predict when a crime is about to happen.
DNA tracing can add to these technologies and convictions using scientific evidence can help with conservation efforts.

RhoDIS :

RhODIS(Rhino DNA Index System) is a project that was initiated by the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory of the University of Pretoria in order to help with the plight of the rhinos.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is collecting DNA samples of rhinos across the country to create a database using the unique DNA profile of individual rhinos.
The goal is for all rhinos to be on the system. This will deter poachers and assist in forensic prosecutions.
South African National Parks (SANParks) have partnered with RhODIS since 2010 and in association with the Forensics Science Laboratory of the South African Police Services have played a key role in the development and implementation of the RhODIS Kit for sample collection.
Samsung is the exclusive technology partner associated with this development.

3. ONE DISTRICT ONE PRODUCT SCHEME

Subject : Government Schemes

Context : Wine from the Nashik valley has been selected by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry for its ‘One District, One Product’ scheme.

Concept :

Under this scheme, Nashik’s Valley Wine, which had earlier received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, will now come under the PM’s Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme.

Nashik Valley Wine

Nashik valley wines are specially protected under the patent of the geographical indicator in India for the region of Nashik district in Maharashtra, India.
The wine is produced in two types: red and white.
The district has 29 wineries in operation and consequently Nashik is occasionally known by the epithet “The Wine Capital of India”.
The product is protected under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act (GI Act) 1999 of the Government of India.
Under the protection stipulations, at least 80% of the grapes used for making wine are to be grown in the Nashik district, and the wines are to be produced, bottled, and labelled within the district.

One District One Product

Firstly , the UP government has launched the One District One Product (ODOP) programme which aims to create product-specific traditional industrial hubs across 75 districts of UP.
This is going to provide an impetus to the traditional industries across respective districts in the state. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi has also praised the ODOP programme describing it as “An extension of Make in India”.
Ministry of Commerce and Industry is now working on an institutional mechanism to promote the ODOP scheme across India.

ODOP Objectives

The objective is to convert each district of the country into an export hub by identifying products with export potential in the district.
Preserve and develop local crafts and promote traditional art
Increase incomes and local employment which will in turn result in decline in migration for employment
Improve product quality and develop local skills
Transform local products in an artistic way through packaging, branding
Connect production with tourism through live demos and sales outlets for gifts and souvenirs
Resolve issues of economic difference and regional imbalance

Financial Assistance under ODOP

The ODOP programme provides aid in the form of following major schemes:
Common Facility Centre (CFC) Scheme –Under this scheme, financial assistance of up to 90% of the project cost of a CFC would be provided by the state government.
Marketing Development Assistance Scheme – Under this scheme, financial assistance will be provided to participants of national and international fairs/ exhibitions for display and sale of their products selected under ODOP programme.
Finance Assistance Scheme (Margin Money Scheme) – Under this scheme, a certain margin of the project cost will be paid to the applicants in the form of subsidy to setup the project.
Skill Development Scheme – Under this scheme, skilled artisans will be trained through RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) and will be certified through relevant Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) while the unskilled artisans will be provided a 10-day training and an advanced toolkit which will be free of cost

4. FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT

Subject : Economics

Context : Foreign portfolio investment flows in December have crossed $6 billion and could well hit $7 billion before the month is over.

Concept :

While it’s the abundance of liquidity worldwide that is channelling funds into equities, India seems to be getting more than its fair share as Indian equities though valued at their most expensive ever but foreign portfolio investors continue to be buyers. .

Foreign Investments

Foreign investment, quite simply, is investing in a country other than your home one. It involves capital flowing from one country to another and foreigners having an ownership interest or a say in the business.
Foreign investment is generally seen as a catalyst for economic growth and can be undertaken by institutions, corporations, and individuals.
Investors interested in foreign investment generally take one of two paths: foreign portfolio investment or foreign direct investment.

Foreign Portfolio Investments

Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) refers to investing in the financial assets of a foreign country, such as stocks or bonds available on an exchange.
This type of investment is at times viewed less favorably than direct investment because portfolio investments can be sold off quickly and are at times seen as short-term attempts to make money, rather than a long-term investment in the economy.
Portfolio investments typically have a shorter time frame for investment return than direct investments.
As securities are easily traded, the liquidity of portfolio investments makes them much easier to sell than direct investments. With any equity investment, foreign portfolio investors usually expect to quickly realize a profit on their investments.
Portfolio investments are more accessible for the average investor than direct investments because they require much less investment capital and research.
Examples of foreign portfolio investments include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, American depositary receipts (ADRs), and global depositary receipts (GDRs).

Foreign direct investment (FDI)

FDI involves establishing a direct business interest in a foreign country, such as buying or establishing a manufacturing business, building warehouses, or buying buildings.1
Foreign direct investment tends to involve establishing more of a substantial, long-term interest in the economy of a foreign country.
Due to the significantly higher level of investment required, foreign direct investment is usually undertaken by multinational companies, large institutions, or venture capital firms.
Foreign direct investment tends to be viewed more favorably since they are considered long-term investments, as well as investments in the well-being of the country itself.
Some common ones include establishing a subsidiary in another country, acquiring or merging with an existing foreign company, or starting a joint venture partnership with a foreign company.

5. ELECTORAL BONDS

Subject: Polity

Context: The government on Tuesday approved the 15th tranche of electoral bonds which will be open for sales between January 1 and January 10.

Concept:

The State Bank of India (SBI), in the XV Phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorised Branches (as per list enclosed) w.e.f. 01.01.2021 to 10.01.2021.

Electoral Bonds

An electoral bond is like a promissory note that can be bought by any Indian citizen or company incorporated in India from select branches of State Bank of India.
The bonds are similar to bank notes that are payable to the bearer on demand and are free of interest. An individual or party will be allowed to purchase these bonds digitally or through cheque.

Conditions for the Purchase

The bonds will be issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 100,000 and Rs 1 crore (the range of a bond is between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 crore).
These will be available at some branches of SBI. A donor with a KYC-compliant account can purchase the bonds and can then donate them to the party or individual of their choice.
Now, the receiver can encash the bonds through the party’s verified account. The electoral bond will be valid only for fifteen days.
The 29 specified SBI branches are in cities such as New Delhi, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati.
The electoral bonds are available for purchase for 10 days in the beginning of every quarter. The first 10 days of January, April, July and October has been specified by the government for purchase of electoral bonds.
An additional period of 30 days shall be specified by the government in the year of Lok Sabha elections.
In February 2017, the then finance minister said that the donations would be tax deductible. Hence, a donor will get a deduction and the recipient, or the political party, will get tax exemption, provided returns are filed by the political party.

Eligibility for Political Party

Any party that is registered under section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and has secured at least one per cent of the votes polled in the most recent General elections or Assembly elections is eligible to receive electoral bonds.
The party will be allotted a verified account by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the electoral bond transactions can be made only through this account.
The electoral bonds will not bear the name of the donor. Thus, the political party might not be aware of the donor’s identity.

6. GENOMIC SURVEILLANCE CONSORTIUM

Subject: Science & technology

Context: In the wake of a mutated variant of coronavirus detected in the UK, a genomic surveillance consortium has been formed for laboratory and epidemiological surveillance of circulating strains of the SARS-CoV-2 in India, the Centre said on Saturday.

Concept:

Indian government has set up a genomic surveillance consortium – Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) – under National Centre for Disease Control to detect the any circulating variants in the country.
The Central government said that more than 50 samples of returnees from the UK, are currently undergoing genome sequencing at the designated laboratories across the country.
The overall aim of the proposed consortium is to monitor the genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2 on a regular basis through a multi-laboratory network.

Pertinent objectives of the consortium:

To ascertain the current status of new variant of SARS-CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01) in the country
To establish a sentinel surveillance for early detection of genomic variants with public health implication
To determine the genomic variants in the unusual events/trends (super-spreader events, high mortality/morbidity trend areas etc.)

India’s Action Plan

The country has ten regional genome sequencing laboratories, which will cater to their nearest states.
The states will send 5% of the positive samples to these labs for genome sequencing.
The data generated would then be analyzed by the respective centres and sent to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi for collation and integration.
The data from the genome sequencing laboratories will be analyzed to study the linkages (if any) between the genomic variants and epidemiological trends.
This will help to understand super spreader events, outbreaks and strengthen public health interventions across the country to help in breaking the chains of transmission

Genomic Sequencing

Genome sequencing refers to sequencing the entire genome of an organism.
It involves taking a “genetic fingerprint” of an organism and maps how the DNA or RNA inside it is ordered.
Looking at the genetic sequence of different cases, we can detect differences in each new infection and detect variations or mutations.

7. SOVEREIGN GOLD BOND SERIES

Subject: Economy

Context: The latest installment of the government-run Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) 2020-21- Series IX- is open for subscription. The last date for subscription is January 1, 2021, with January 5 as the settlement date.

Concept:

This is the ninth tranche of gold bonds for this fiscal issued by the RBI. The first tranche of sovereign gold bond in the financial year 2020-2021 was open for subscription in April.
The issue price for the next series of sovereign gold bonds is fixed at Rs 5,000 per gram, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement.
Sovereign Gold Bond 2020-21 is issued by the Reserve Bank India on behalf of the Government of India.

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme

SGB scheme was launched in November 2015 with an objective to reduce the demand for physical gold, by shifting the purchase of gold into financial savings. The yellow metal is considered to be a less risky asset during times of economic turmoil.
Gold bonds offer an annual interest rate of 2.50% per annum on the issue price to investors, which is paid half-yearly.
Gold sovereign bonds can be traded on stock exchanges within a specific date. They are substitutes for investment in physical gold. Gold bonds can be used as collateral for loans.
Gold bonds come with a tenor of 8 years and a lock-in period of 5 years. The maximum limit of subscription shall be 4kg for individuals and HUFs, and 20kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal year.
The bonds are denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold. The minimum investment limit in gold bonds is one gram of gold, where one unit of the bond is equal to one gram of gold.
Investors can buy the SGB schemes through commercial banks, post offices, stock exchanges Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange, and the Stock Holding Corporation.
Investors who can invest in the SGBs include individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and universities.

8. KOLAR LEAF NOSED BAT

Subject: Environment

Context: The Bat Conservation India Trust, has been entrusted with drawing up a conservation plan for kolar leaf nosed bats and also has been awarded a grant to conduct further research on this species of bats.

Concept:

The Kolar leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideroshypophyllus), or leafletted leaf-nosed bat is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae.
It is endemic to India. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and caves.
Kolar Leaf-Nosed Bat was found in only two caves in the village of Hanumanahalli in Kolar district of Karnataka. For reasons that are still unknown, the bat became locally extinct in one of the two caves.
Now , it is found in only one cave in India, and its population is less than 200 individuals.
It is listed as Endangered Species by IUCN.

9. AMMONIA POLLUTION

Subject: Environment

Context: The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said water supply to parts of north, central and south Delhi would be disrupted on Wednesday following a spike in ammonia levels in the Yamuna.

Concept:

DJB vice-chairman asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) to look into the issue and sternly deal with the state’s irresponsible behaviour of releasing industrial effluents.
The most recent spike was noted on Monday and Tuesday, when ammonia levels shot up to 7.3 parts per million (ppm) at the Wazirabad pond area — where DJB draws water from — against its acceptable limit of 0.5 ppm.

Impact on Water Supply

The impact of increasing pollution in the Yamuna is being noted in frequent disruption to Delhi’s water supply.
The most likely source is believed to be effluents from dye units, distilleries and other factories in Panipat and Sonepat districts in Haryana, and also sewage from some unsewered colonies in this stretch of the river
When the concentration rises beyond the DJB’s treatment capacity of 0.9 ppm, water production at 3 out of 9 water treatment plants have to be stopped or reduced, which impacts supply to parts of the city.

Ammonia

Ammonia is a colourless gas and is used as an industrial chemical in the production of fertilisers, plastics, synthetic fibres, dyes and other products.
It consists of hydrogen and nitrogen. In its aqueous form, it is called ammonium hydroxide.
This inorganic compound has a pungent smell.
Occurrence: Ammonia occurs naturally in the environment from the breakdown of organic waste matter.
It is lighter than air.

Uses of Ammonia

About 80% of the ammonia produced by industry is used in agriculture as fertilizer.
Ammonia is also used as a refrigerant gas, for purification of water supplies, and in the manufacture of plastics, explosives, textiles, pesticides, dyes and other chemicals.
It is found in many household and industrial-strength cleaning solutions. Household ammonia cleaning solutions are manufactured by adding ammonia gas to water and can be between 5 and 10% ammonia.
Ammonia solutions for industrial use may be concentrations of 25% or higher and are corrosive.

10. PRICE STABILIZATION SCHEME

Subject: Economy

Concept:

The scheme provides for maintaining a strategic buffer of commodities for subsequent calibrated release to moderate price volatility and discourage hoarding and unscrupulous speculation.
For building such stock, the scheme promotes direct purchase from farmers/farmers’ association at farm gate/Mandi.
The PSF is utilized for granting interest free advance of working capital to Central Agencies, State/UT Governments/Agencies to undertake market intervention operations.
Apart from domestic procurement from farmers/wholesale mandis, import may also be undertaken with support from the Fund.
Fund will be maintained in a Central Corpus Fund account to be opened by Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), which will act as Fund Manager.

Funding

It is a Central Sector Scheme.
The States will have to set up a revolving fund to which Centre and State will contribute equally (50:50).
The Ratio will be 75:25 in North East states.

Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)

CACP is an expert body which recommend minimum support prices (MSPs) to Government (CCEA) by taking into account cost of production, trends in domestic and international prices.
It is a statutory panel under the Ministry of Agriculture
It makes the recommendations for MSPs for 23 kharif and rabi crops.
Currently, CCEA comprises Chairman, Member Secretary, one Member (Official) and two Members (Non-Official).
The non-official members are representatives from farming community and usually have active association with farming community.
Its suggestions are not binding on the government.