Daily Prelims Notes 31 December 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

31 December 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Bengal green activist urges PM Modi to save country’s oldest botanical garden from Ganga erosion
2. Basmati rice: the new authenticity rules aiming to remove sub-standard varieties from the market
3. Italy puts curbs on sea rescue ops for migrants: What the new rules say
4. Remote voting for migrants proposal: What are RVMs, how they will work
5. Leveraging voice technology to combat cyber-fraud
6. SEBI

1. Bengal green activist urges PM Modi to save country’s oldest botanical garden from Ganga erosion

Subject :  Environment

Context:

• The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanic Garden in Howrah has been highly impacted on its eastern fringe due to erosion by the Ganga River.

About Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanic Garden:

• The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, previously known as Indian Botanic Garden and the Calcutta Botanic Garden, is situated in Shibpur, Howrah near Kolkata.
• The gardens were founded in 1787 by Colonel Robert Kyd.
• It is under Botanical Survey of India (BSI) of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
• It is India’s largest botanical garden, and is spread over 270 acres.
• The garden is one of the best and oldest landscaped gardens in the world, having more than 12,000 species.
• The best-known landmark of the garden is The Great Banyan, an enormous banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) that is reckoned to be the largest tree in the world, at more than 330 metres in circumference.

Issue facing by the garden:

• The erosion by the Ganga may wash away parts of its fence and inner plantation soon.
• The western side of the Ganga (Hooghly) is highly susceptible owing to massive soil erosion and breaches of the embankment.
• The Kolkata Port Authority, after dredging disposes of it at a distance within the river. This leads to unevenness in the riverbed.
• River pollution due to untreated sewage from urban local bodies.

Sewage treatment projects:

• Multiple sewerage infrastructure projects in West Bengal worth over Rs 2,550 crore has been inaugurated.
• The list included seven sewerage infrastructure projects developed under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).

Botanical garden

Ex-situ Conservation is one of the primary objectives of Botanical Survey of India (BSI). It is literally an ‘off site’ conservation policy that involves a couple of techniques linking the transfer of an objective species, experiencing various threats, away from its native habitat to a much safer abode, like in a Botanical Garden, Zoological Garden, Seed Bank or Gene Bank etc.

The prime goal of this technique is to adequately backing conservation strategies by guaranteeing the existence of vanishing and threatened taxa/species and the maintenance of allied genetic diversity thereof. It further supports the idea of reintroduction of species in its natural or original habitat as the species under varying threat perception are preserved in safe custody till the casual factors threatening their survival in the wild have been return to normalcy and the reintroduction becomes possible.

The preamble of Article 9 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) stresses the need of establishing Botanic Gardens as a complementary approach to in-situ conservation (conserving plant / animal species in their natural habitat) practices to conserve threatened plant species and taxa of the country of their origin and to adopt appropriate measures to ward off their extinction. In order to commensurate with the directives of CBD, BSI being the custodian of the floral wealth of the country (even well before CBD came into existence BSI has initiated work in the same lane) has set up several well networked major and minor Botanic Gardens spread across different geographical belts of the country exclusively to conserves its vast, endemic and threatened flora. In some centre’s storage of seeds, conserving pollen, storage of plant shoot in low temperature (in vitro preservation) as well as tissue culture methods is being employed to this effect.

2. Basmati rice: the new authenticity rules aiming to remove sub-standard varieties from the market

Subject : Agriculture

Context:

• Nearly three-quarters of the world’s basmati is produced in India, and the UK buys three per cent of it — plus substantial amounts from the second-largest producer, Pakistan.
• New rules are being introduced at the beginning of 2023 that aim to take these lesser varieties of basmati off the market.

Basmati and the code of practice:

• To qualify as basmati, grains must meet certain standards related to things like fragrance, grain length and width, as well as cooked texture.
• They must also have a mid-range level of amylose, a part of the starch in rice.
• To get around the problem of adulterations, the UK Rice Association introduced a code of practice in 2005.
• Also followed across the EU, the code specified that basmati could be no more than seven per cent impure, as well as introducing a list of 15 permitted varieties:nine traditional ones that could be imported duty free and a further six that were modern cultivars.

Inclusion of new varieties:

• In 2017 the code was updated to add 25 new modern cultivators.
• The traditional varieties are tall, low yielding plants which fall over if they are fed with too much fertiliser.
• So, the breeders introduced the ‘green revolution’ semi-dwarfing gene.

Issue with the new varieties:

• Six of the new varieties — five from India and one from Pakistan — had not been properly bred for fragrance.
• Some did not even contain the version of the BADH2 gene that makes basmati fragrance possible in the first place.

So, what has been done now?

• The Rice association has published a new code of practice that removes the six varieties from the permitted list.
• The code also adds five new varieties that fulfil the quality criteria.

About Basmati rice:

• It is one of the best known varieties of rice all across the globe.
• It is long grain rice which has its origin from India and some parts of Pakistan.
• Basmati rice has a unique fragrance and flavour due to the presence of a chemical called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline.
• This chemical is found in basmati rice at about 90 parts per million (ppm) which is 12 times more than non-basmati rice varieties.
• Basmati rice needs specific climatic conditions to grow which is why it is cultivated in selected regions of India.

Production of Basmati Rice in India:

• India is the largest producer of Basmati rice with about 70 per cent share in global production.
• Basmati rice constitutes one of India’s significant exports both in terms of soft power and hard money.
• It is cultivated in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and western Uttar Pradesh.
• In May 2010, GI status was given to basmati grown only in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
• Major chunk of India’s basmati rice is exported to Gulf countries viz. Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait.

GI tagged rice varieties in India:

3. Italy puts curbs on sea rescue ops for migrants: What the new rules say

Subject :International Relations

Context:

• Italy approved a cabinet decree which imposes tougher rules on charity ships that rescue migrants at sea. These rules will make it harder for such ships to rescue as many migrants as possible – with severe penalties in cases of non-compliance.

Italy’s refugee crisis:

• According to World Bank data, in comparison with 1990 when international migrants formed 2.5 per cent of the total population, in 2015, international migrants made up around 9.5 per cent of the total population.
• Rampant rise in “illegal migrants” from Africa and Asia region to europe.
• A common route taken by migrants to enter Italy involves crossing of the Mediterranean Sea either from Turkey or North Africa.
• Almost 104,000 migrants have disembarked in Italy so far in 2022, compared with around 67,000 in the same period last year, 34,000 in 2020 and a peak of more than 181,000 in 2016.

About the New rules:

• Once ships rescue any individual(s) from the sea, they should request a port and sail to it “without delay,” rather than remain at sea looking for other migrant boats in distress.
• The new decree also states that the captains must inform the rescued survivors that they can ask for international protection anywhere in the European Union.
• Captains breaching these rules risk fines of up to 50,000 euros ($53,175), and repeated violations can result in the impoundment of the vessel.

Illegal Migrants Vs Refugee:

Illegal Migrants:

• The foreign nationals who enter the country without valid travel documents are treated as illegal migrants.

Refugee:

• Under the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the subsequent 1967 Protocol, the word refugee pertains to any person who is outside their country of origin and unable or unwilling to return owing to well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
  • India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol
• Stateless persons may also be refugees in this sense, where country of origin (citizenship) is understood as ‘country of former habitual residence’.

Factors that led to the Refugee Crisis:

• Wars – Syrian War, Afghanistan war, Iraq war, Libyan war, Russia-Ukraine war
• Human Rights Violations
• Economic hardships
• Climate change

4. Remote voting for migrants proposal: What are RVMs, how they will work

Subject :Polity

Context:

• The Election Commission spelled out its plan in a letter to political parties on December 28, asking them to attend a demonstration of the prototype Remote Voting Machine (RVM).

Remote Voting Machine (RVM):

• Working with the Electronics Corporation of India, a company under the Department of Atomic Energy, the EC has come up with a prototype Remote Voting Machine (RVM), which is a modified version of the existing Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
• The RVM will be able to handle 72 constituencies in a single remote polling booth.
• The RVM is a standalone and non-networked system.
• Instead of a paper ballot sheet, the RVM would have a dynamic ballot display that can change with the selection of different constituencies.
• The system would have a device similar to the VVPAT so voters can verify their votes.

How will the Remote voting process work?

• The special remote polling booths would be set up in different states when elections are on in the home state of migrants.
• The EC proposed using this in a State Assembly election as a pilot so internal migrants within a state can cast their ballots.
• The remote voter will have to pre-register for the facility by applying online or offline with the Returning Officer of the home constituency.
• The special polling stations would then be set up in the places of current residence of the remote voters.
• The units will save the number of votes for each candidate for each of the constituencies, to be tallied on counting day. The results would then be shared with the home RO.

Unique feature of RVMs:

• A single Remote Ballot Unit (RBU): To cater to multiple constituencies (as many as 72) by using a “dynamic ballot display board” instead of the usually printed paper ballot sheet on EVMs.
• Ballot Unit Overlay Display (BUOD): It will show the requisite candidates based on the constituency number read on the voter’s Constituency card, which can be read by a barcode scanning system.

Need for Remote Voting Machine:

• While registered voters do not end up voting for a variety of reasons, domestic migration – is driven by marriage, natural disasters, employment, etc.
• As per the 2011 census, there are nearly 45.36 crores (forty-five point three six) migrants in India (both intra and interstate) – nearly 37% of the country’s population.
• These migrants are unable to travel to vote, denying a large chunk of the population its franchise, going against the EC’s motto – “No voter left behind”.
• The EC had formed a Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants, which recommended (in 2016) internet voting, proxy voting, early voting and postal ballots for migrant workers (rejected due to concerns like lack of secrecy of the vote, the lack of sanctity of one person one vote principle, issues of accessibility, etc.)
• Thus, a technological solution was proposed which allows voters to vote remotely, in a safe and controlled environment.

Major concerns include:

• The system has issues, some of which the EC has itself acknowledged. For example,
  • Migrants are not a uniform and defined class, with fluid identities, locations and situations.
  • As various countries reject EVMs for paper-based ballots, this move may have the potential to raise further questions on the sanctity of the electoral process itself.
  • Remote voting can theoretically provide an added edge to bigger parties and richer candidates who can campaign across the constituency and beyond.

5. Leveraging voice technology to combat cyber-fraud

Subject :Science and Technology

Cyber-fraud:

• It is a situation in which someone uses the internet to get money, goods, etc. from people illegally by tricking them: Not only does cyber fraud inflict losses on the cardholders, but also the merchants, merchants’ banks, and card issuers.

Cyber frauds in India:

• According to data by the Reserve Bank of India, frauds have cost the country an estimated ₹100 crore a day over the last seven years.
• The frauds reported in 2021-22 were 23.69% higher than in the previous year (9,103 cases reported compared to 7,359 in 2020-21), although there was a decline in the amount involved.
• The main reasons for the rise in fraud include greater use of digital payments, telephone banking, and online banking services.
• Growing fraud also means rising losses for financial institutions and increasing cases for law enforcement to solve.

An emerging technology to tackle cyber fraud:

• This technology is known as Adopting Voice Technology (VT).
• It encompasses voice biometrics or voice/speech recognition technology.
• it uses the unique characteristics of a person’s voice as identification.
• The technology creates a digital voiceprint and compares it to a caller’s voice.
• Voice authentication can significantly improve security over knowledge-based authentication methods, which fraudsters have exploited to scam people.

Benefits of this technology:

• Compared to other biometrics, voice use is the cheapest technology, and does not require a reader or special device.
• It is also non-invasive, portable and affords remote identification.
• Although banks have traditionally relied on the use of passwords, passwords are the weakest link in security (81% of hacking-related breaches involve weak passwords).
• Unlike a password, a customer’s voice is impossible to spoof or copy, and is far more challenging to hack.
• VT verifies a caller swiftly in seconds by analysing the caller’s voice and flags suspicious calls. VT allows privacy because it does not require users to reveal personal information.
• Voice biometrics can help financial institutions to ensure higher levels of protection for customers and employees.

Prospects of the voice biometrics industry:

• In February 2019, HSBC became the first bank to take the revolutionary leap in introducing voice recognition for mobile banking customers — telephone banking fraud cases fell by over 50%.
• The voice biometrics industry is growing exponentially now.
• Experts expect the market to reach a market size of $3.9 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.8%.

Growing applications:

• An essential tool for forensics and law enforcement.
• Airport security as voice biometric has a lower error rate than face recognition technology.
• It also has the ability to resist playback attacks.
• It is sensitive enough to detect if someone is impersonating the user or playing a recording.
• It can identify even if the user has a cold or a sore throat.
• Disbursal of money for various schemes
• Verify the proof of life of pensioners from their homes.

VT has the advantage:

• improving user experience
• reducing call handle time
• call center costs

Disadvantages:

• May not be 100% foolproof, may give false positives, and has an accuracy between 90% and 99%.
• But some recent systems which come with voice analytics of gender and age identification, claim 100% verification accuracy.

6. SEBI

Subject :Economy

Context:

SEBI suggested various steps to strengthen the capital market.

Details:

• ISEBI asked stock exchanges to set up an Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA) platform.
  • It will give investors an opportunity to cancel pending orders in case of disruption of trading services.
• SEBI also decided to amend regulations to strengthen the focus and governance mechanisms of market infrastructure institutions (MIIs).
• It also decided to phase out the buyback in a gradual manner through the stock exchange route.
• It will also introduce a framework to facilitate execution-only platforms (EOPs) for direct plans of mutual fund (MF) schemes.
  • EOPs may be granted registration under either of the two categories: category-1 EOP as an agent of asset management companies (AMCs), registered with the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) or category-2 EOP as an agent of investor, registered as a stock broker.

Concept:

Market Infrastructure Institutes:

• MIIs are institutions providing infrastructure of trading, settlement and record keeping and include stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories.
• Stock exchanges, depositories and clearing houses are all Market Infrastructure Institutions and constitute a key part of the nation’s vital economic infrastructure.
• MIIs helps in optimal use of money in the economy and fostered economic development.
• They constitute the nucleus of the capital allocation system and are indispensable for economic growth and have a net positive effect on society like any other infrastructure institution.
• That MIIs are systemically important in India is clear from the phenomenal growth of these institutions in terms of market capitalization of listed companies, capital raised and the number of investor accounts with brokers and depositories and the value of assets held in the depositories’ account.
• Currently, MIIs are required to have a minimum net worth of not less than Rs 100 crore on a continuous basis.

What are the specific institutions in India that qualify as MIIs?

• Among stock exchanges, the SEBI lists seven, including the BSE, the NSE, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India.
• There are two depositories — charged with the safekeeping of securities and enabling their trading and transfer — that are tagged MIIs: the Central Depository Services Ltd. and the National Securities Depository Ltd.
• The regulator also lists seven clearing houses including the Multi Commodity Exchange Clearing Corporation.
• Clearing houses, for their part, help validate and finalise securities trades and ensure that both buyers and sellers honour their obligations