Daily Prelims Notes 30 October 2020

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

Table Of Contents

Subject: Polity

Context: Former diplomat and Central Information Commissioner Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha is tipped to be appointed as the country’s next Chief Information Commissioner.

Concept:

The Chief Information Commissioner(CIC) and Information Commissioners(CI) shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of

The Prime Minister, who shall be the Chairperson of the committee.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

A Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

Section 12(5) of the RTI Act 2005 provides that the CIC and IC shall be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance.
Also, CIC/IC shall not be a MP or MLA, or hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.
RTI Amendment 2019 gave discretionary powers to government regarding terms and condition for Information and Chief Information Commissioners and reduced their status which is held before as equal to Election and Chief Election Commissioner.
Prior to RTI Amendment ,

CIC shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office and shall not be eligible for reappointment

Salaries and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service of the CIC shall be the same as that of the Chief Election Commissioner and that of ICs shall be the same as that of Election Commissioner

Information Commissioner(IC) shall also hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office and shall not be eligible for reappointment of IC. However, IC is eligible for appointment as CIC

Where the Information Commissioner is appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner, his term of office shall not be more than five years in aggregate as the Information Commissioner and the Chief Information Commissioner.

2. COMMISSION FOR AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Subject: Legislation

Context: Centre has set up the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region to curb air pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas.

Concept:

The Commission can lay down guidelines, and ask state governments to curb pollution and stubble burning. It is empowered to inspect any premises and/or order the disconnection of water and electric supply.
Central body to file annual reports in the Parliament, can be contested only in NGT.
18 member Commission will lay down norms to curb stubble burning, pollution.
Violation of Commission’s order to invite jail term upto 5 years, fine upto Rs 1 crore.
The new central body will replace the over 2-decade old Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), which was responsible for curbing pollution.

Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority

EPCA was constituted under section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for the National Capital Region in compliance with the Supreme Court order dated January 1998.
It has the power to take action suo-moto, or on the basis of complaints made by any individual, representative body or organization functioning in the field of environment.
It takes all necessary steps for controlling vehicular pollution, ensuring compliance of fuel quality standards, monitoring and coordinating action for traffic planning and management.

3. FISCAL DEFICIT

Subject: Economics

Context: The fiscal deficit continued to soar in September to reach ₹9.1 lakh crore, or almost 115% of the budget target of ₹7.96 lakh crore for 2020-21, as per data from Controller General of Accounts.

Concept:

It is the gap between the government’s expenditure requirements and its receipts. This equals the money the government needs to borrow during the year. A surplus arises if receipts are more than expenditure.
Fiscal Deficit = Total expenditure – (Revenue receipts + Non-debt creating capital receipts).
It indicates the total borrowing requirements of the government from all sources.
From the financing side: Gross fiscal deficit = Net borrowing at home + Borrowing from RBI + Borrowing from abroad
The gross fiscal deficit is a key variable in judging the financial health of the public sector and the stability of the economy.

4. DAM STRENGTHENING

Subject: Govt Schemes

Context: The cabinet committee on economic affairs on Thursday approved a Rs 10,211-crore project to improve the safety and performance of select dams across India.

Concept:

The dam rehabilitation and improvement project (DRIP)–phase II and phase III–is financially supported by the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
DRIP will be implemented over a period of 10 years in two phases – each of six years with two years overlapping from April 2021 to March 2031. The first phase of this project started in 2012.
The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Government of India is implementing agency .
Central Dam Safety Organisation of Central Water Commission, assisted by a Consulting firm, is coordinating and supervising the Project implementation.
The project originally envisaged the rehabilitation and improvement of about 223 dams within four states namely, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu and later Karnataka, Uttarakhand (UNVNL) and Jharkhand (DVC) joined DRIP and total number of dams covered under DRIP increased to 250.
The project will also promote new technologies and improve Institutional capacities for dam safety evaluation and implementation at the Central and State levels and in some identified premier academic and research institutes of the country.
The project development objectives of DRIP are: (i) to improve the safety and performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner, and (ii) to strengthen the dam safety institutional setup in participating states as well as at central level.

5. INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION

Subject: Economics

Context: India’s eight core industry sectors shrank just 0.8% in September on a year-on-year basis, recording their lowest contraction since March 2020.

Concept:

Index of Industrial Production

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index that shows the growth rates in different industry groups of the economy in a fixed period of time.
It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
IIP is a composite indicator that measures the growth rate of industry groups classified under:

Broad sectors: Mining, Manufacturing, and Electricity.

Use-based sectors: Basic Goods, Capital Goods, and Intermediate Goods.

Base Year for IIP is 2011-2012.
The eight core industries of India represent about 40% of the weight of items that are included in the IIP.

Significance of IIP:

IIP is the only measure on the physical volume of production.
It is used by government agencies including the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India, etc, for policy-making purposes.
IIP remains extremely relevant for the calculation of the quarterly and advance GDP estimates.

6. IPBES

Subject: Environment

Context: Land use change is prime trigger for COVID-19 and responsible for 30 percent of new diseases since 1960 according to IPBES.

Concept:

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent intergovernmental body, established by member States in 2012.
Objective of IPBES: Strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development.
IPBES is often described as the “IPCC for biodiversity”, as it is mandated to do a similar job for natural ecosystems and biodiversity.
Assessments: On specific themes (e.g. “Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production”); methodological issues (e.g. “Scenarios and Modelling); and at both the regional and global levels (e.g. “Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services”).
Policy Support: Identifying policy-relevant tools and methodologies, facilitating their use, and catalyzing their further development.
Building Capacity & Knowledge: Identifying and meeting the priority capacity, knowledge and data needs of our member States, experts and stakeholders.

7. VACCINE HESITANCY

Subject: Science & tech

Context : The trend of vaccine hesitancy has increased in many countries between 2015 and 2019, showed a study published in journal The Lancet.

Concept:

WHO defines Vaccine hesitancy as a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services. Vaccine hesitancy has been reported in more than 90% of countries in the world.

Reasons for Vaccine Hesitancy

The main issue with Vaccine hesitancy is misinformation.
Religious propaganda that the vaccine may contain microbes, chemicals and animal-derived products which is forbidden by religious laws.
Social media is used in stirring fear in people by falsely blaming vaccines for unrelated diseases is the bedrock of the Vaccine hesitancy all across the globe.
For example, recently some sections in India are refraining from the polio vaccine. This is due to the misconception that the polio vaccine caused illness, infertility and was ineffective.
Vaccine-derived diseases: Oral Polio Vaccines (OPV) contains weakened but live poliovirus. This virus from the vaccine is excreted by immunized children which can move from one person to another.
This allows the virus to stick around and mutate to a more virulent form, raising the threat of vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV).
Inconvenience in accessing vaccines is also the leading cause of Vaccine hesitancy.

8. CREDIT DEFAULT SWAP

Subject: Economics

Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon issue fresh guidelines on credit default swaps (CDS), a financial derivative instrument to hedge risks in bond investments.

Concept:

A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial derivative or contract that allows an investor to “swap” or offset his or her credit risk with that of another investor.
For example, if a lender is worried that a borrower is going to default on a loan, the lender could use a CDS to offset or swap that risk. To swap the risk of default, the lender buys a CDS from another investor who agrees to reimburse the lender in the case the borrower defaults.
Most CDS will require an ongoing premium payment to maintain the contract, which is like an insurance policy.
A credit default swap is the most common form of credit derivative and may involve municipal bonds, emerging market bonds, mortgage-backed securities or corporate bonds.

Derivatives :

Derivatives are financial instruments with a price that is dependent upon or derived from one or more underlying assets.
Futures, Option , Swap represent the common form of
An option gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation to buy (or sell) a certain asset at a specific price at any time during the life of the contract.
In futures contract buyer has the obligation to purchase a specific asset, and the seller has to sell and deliver that asset at a specific future date.

9. CVC

Subject: Statutory National Organization

Context: CVC to receive vigilance clearance proposals only via email from November.

Concept:

Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964.
CVC was set up based on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam.
The CVC became a Statutory Body with the enactment of CVC Act, 2003.
The CVC is an independent body, free of control from any executive authority, (It is NOT controlled by any ministry or department).
The CVC is responsible only to the Parliament.
The CVC is NOT an investigating agency. The CVC may have the investigation done through the CBI or Chief Vigilance Officers (CVO) in government offices.

Functions of CVC

The CVC monitors all vigilance activity under the Central Government
It advises various authorities in Central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
The CVC recommends appropriate action on complaints on corruption or misuse of power.
Lokpal, Central Government or Whistle blowers can approach the CVC regarding complaints.
The CVC – Under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 – can inquire into offences reported against certain categories of Public Servants. (However, CVC is NOT an Investigating agency).
The Annual Report of the CVC not only gives the details of the work done by it but also brings out the system failures which leads to corruption in various Departments/Organisations, system improvements, various preventive measures and cases in which the Commission’s advises were ignored etc.

Composition of Central Vigilance Commission

The CVC is comprised of 3 members: Central Vigilance Commissioner (Chairperson) and up to two Vigilance Commissioners (Members)
President of India appoints CVC members by warrant under his hand and seal.
The Oath of office is administered by the President.
A three-member committee made of – The Prime Minister, The Home Minister and The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha – Makes the Recommendation for appointment of Vigilance Commissioners.
The Vigilance Commissioners are appointed for a term of Four years OR until they attain 65 years of age (whichever is earlier).
On retirement – they are NOT eligible for reappointment in any central or state government agency.

Removal of members (according to CVC Act)

The Central Vigilance Commissioner or any Vigilance Commissioner can be removed from his office only by order of the President on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity after the Supreme Court reports that the officer ought to be removed after inquiry, on a reference made to it by the President.
Also, a member can be removed if the member:

Is Adjudged as an insolvent

Is convicted of an offence that involves moral turpitude according to Central Government

Engages in Office of profit outside the duties of his office

Is declared unfit by reason of infirmity of mind or body, by the President

Participates / Concerned / Interested to Participate – in any way in the profit / in any benefit – in any contract or agreement made by or on behalf of the Government of India