Daily Prelims Notes 5 November 2020

November 5, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject : Defence

Context : Enhanced PINAKA rocket, developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO has been successfully flight tested from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

Concept :

The enhanced Pinaka along with guidance Pinaka will cover the range between 60 to 90 kilometres and will be deployed by the Indian Army.
The design and development has been carried out by Pune based DRDO laboratories, namely Armament Research and Development Establishment, ARDE and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, HEMRL.
Enhanced version of the Pinaka rocket would replace the existing Pinaka Mk-I rockets which are currently under production.

2. PRASAR BHARATI TO LAUNCH 51 EDUCATION TV CHANNELS

Subject : Education

Context : Prasar Bharati entered into a MoU with Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Concept :

Under the MoU, 51 DTH education TV channels will be available as DD co-branded channels to all DD FreeDish viewers.
This move aims to bring quality educational programmes to every household, including those in rural and remote areas.
The services will be available free of cost for all the viewers 24×7, in line with Government’s commitment towards skill development and providing quality education to the last person in the country.

Prasar Bharati :

Prasar Bharati is a statutory autonomous body established under the Prasar Bharati Act and it is the Public Service Broadcaster of the country.
The objectives of public service broadcasting are achieved in terms of Prasar Bharati Act through All India Radio and Doordarshan.
The Act grants autonomy to All India Radio and Doordarshan
They were earlier working as media units under the Ministry of I&B and since the above-said date became constituents of Prasar Bharati
The President of India appoints Chairman and the other Members, except the ex officio members, nominated member and the elected members.

3. PARIS CLIMATE DEAL

Subject : Environment

Context : The United States formally exits from the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change which is a global deal to take collective actions to reduce consequences of global warming.

Concept :

Even though USA announced its exit earlier in 2017, formal withdrawal could technically happen only a day after the US presidential election as per the UN climate body’s exit procedures for the deal.
It made the US the first country to withdraw from the Agreement.
With contributing 14% of total carbon emission, the US is currently the second biggest emitter after China (26%). The EU nations collectively contribute to 9% of total emission followed by India at 7%.

Paris Climate Agreement :

Paris Agreement is an international agreement to combat climate change.It is widely recognized as a historic deal to stop global warming.

Aims :

Keep the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.
Pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)

The national pledges by countries to cut emissions are voluntary.
The Paris Agreement requires all Parties to put forward their best efforts through “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead.
This includes requirements that all Parties report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts.
In 2018, Parties will take stock of the collective efforts in relation to progress towards the goal set in the Paris Agreement.
There will also be a global stock take every 5 years to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Agreement and to inform further individual actions by Parties.

India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)

India’s INDC include a reduction in the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level.
India has also pledged to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
India will anchor a global solar alliance, INSPA (International Agency for Solar Policy & Application), of all countries located in between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.

Frameworks under Paris Agreement

Technology Framework
Capacity Building Framework
Transparency Framework

When will Paris Agreement come into force?

Thirty days after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55 % of the total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Depositary.
On 5 October 2016, the threshold for entry into force of the Paris Agreement was achieved.

4. KAFALA SYSTEM

Subject : International Issues

Context : Saudi Arabia announced reforms to its controversial “kafala” or “sponsorship” system of foreign workers’ visa that human rights groups say is a form of indentured servitude.

Concept :

The Kafala (Sponsorship) System emerged in the 1950’s to regulate the relationship between employers and migrant workers in many countries in West Asia.
It remains the routine practice in the Gulf countries and also in the Arab states of Jordan and Lebanon.
It is introduced to provide temporary, rotating labour that could be rapidly brought into the country in economic boom and expelled during less affluent periods, with the event setting in motion a huge construction programme employing foreign workers.

Features and criticism:

Under the Kafala system a migrant worker’s immigration status is legally bound to an individual employer or sponsor (kafeel) for their contract period.
The migrant worker cannot enter the country, transfer employment nor leave the country for any reason without first obtaining explicit written permission from the kafeel.
Often the kafeel exerts further control over the migrant worker by confiscating their passport and travel documents, despite legislation in some destination countries that declares this practice illegal.
The power that the Kafala system delegates to the sponsor over the migrant worker, has been likened to a contemporary form of slavery.

5. CR DAS

Subject : History

Context : 150th Birth Anniversary of Freedom Fighter Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das is Celebrated.

Concept :

He was actively involved in Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s Brahmo Samaj.
In 1890, Das completed his graduation from Calcutta’s Presidency College and then went to England to pursue higher studies and take the Indian Civil Services exam. He, however, did not clear the ICS.
He finished his law studies from England and returned to India in 1893 and practised law for many years at the Calcutta High Court.
In the 1908 Alipore Bomb Case, Das defended Aurobindo Ghosh and gained fame among Indians.
He also contributed to the English weekly ‘Bande Mataram’ along with Aurobindo and Bipin Chandra Pal (More on Pal at This Day in History dated November 7th).
He actively advocated the use of the Bengali language in university examinations.
He championed the cause of Khadi and cottage industries and gave up his own western clothes and luxurious lifestyle.
He became involved with the Non-Cooperation Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi.
He became an important member of the Indian National Congress and was known for his public speaking skills and insight.
In 1921, he was arrested along with his son and wife for taking part in the movement. He spent 6 months in prison.
When Gandhi withdrew the non-cooperation movement in 1922 owing to the incident at Chauri Chaura, Das and others objected since the movement was going on in full swing. He, along with Motilal Nehru, established the Swaraj Party in January 1923.
He was a prolific writer and poet. He published his collection of poems in two volumes titled ‘Malancha’ and ‘Mala’.
Das’s health started getting worse in 1925 and he went on to stay in Darjeeling to improve his health.
Gandhi was a great admirer of Das and called him a great soul. The people gave him the honorific title ‘Deshbandhu’. Subhas Chandra Bose also revered das.
Das died of a severe fever on 16 June 1925 in Darjeeling. His mortal remains were brought to Calcutta for the funeral. Hundreds of people turned up for his funeral. Gandhi led the funeral procession.

6. IPBES REPORT

Subject : Enironment

Context : IPBES, have warned that future pandemics will emerge more often, they’ll spread more rapidly, do more damage to the world and kill more people than COVID-19, unless significant measures are taken.

Concept :

The report notes that COVID-19 is at least the sixth pandemic to have taken place in the last century since the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918.
Three of the pandemics were caused by influenza viruses, one by HIV followed by SARS and COVID-19. While the current pandemic’s origins lie in microbes carried by animals, “like all pandemics, its emergence has been entirely driven by human activities.
There are over 1.7 million currently ‘undiscovered’ viruses that exist in mammals and birds, out of which up to 827,000 could have the ability to infect people.
More than 70 per cent of emerging diseases, such as Ebola, Zika and Nipah, are caused by microbes found in animals that spill over due to contact among wildlife, livestock and people.
About 30 per cent of emerging infectious diseases are attributed to land use change, agricultural expansion and urbanisation.
The report suggests that pandemic risk can be lowered by reducing the human activities that drive loss of biodiversity, by greater conservation of protected areas and through measures that reduce unsustainable exploitation of high biodiversity regions.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem (IPBES)

It is an intergovernmental organization established to improve the interface between science and policy on issues of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
The IPBES was established by the United Nations, but functions independently.
Formation: 2012.
Headquarters: Bonn, Germany .

7. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Subject : Economics

Context : The scheduled initial public offering (IPO) of Ant Group has been delayed for now, after its plans of listing on the Shanghai and Hong Kong’s stock exchanges were thwarted by authorities.

Concept :

Ant Group is the world’s highest-valued FinTech company, and most valuable unicorn company. It had hoped to raise up to $37 billion from the market, in an IPO that would have been the world’s largest, beating the last year’s $29.4 billion listing of Saudi Aramco.

Inital Public Offering :

IPO is the selling of securities to the public in the primary market.
Primary market deals with new securities being issued for the first time. It is also known as the new issues market.
It is different from secondary market where existing securities are bought and sold. It is also known as the stock market or stock exchange.
It is when an unlisted company makes either a fresh issue of securities or an offer for sale of its existing securities or both for the first time to the public.
Unlisted companies are companies that are not listed on the stock exchange.
It is generally used by new and medium-sized firms that are looking for funds to grow and expand their business.

8. GI TAG FOR BASMATI RICE

Subject : Economy

Context : Delhi seeks geographical indication status for its basmati rice, angering Islamabad.

Concept :

Basmati Rice

It is one of the best known varieties of rice all across the globe.
It is a long grain rice which has its origin from India and some parts of Pakistan.
It has a unique position in the rice world due to its price, fragrance, grain morphology as well as quality.
Basmati rice has a unique fragrance and flavour caused 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.
It is cultivated in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and kashmir and western Uttar Pradesh.

Geographical Indication (GI)

It is an insignia on products having a unique geographical origin and evolution over centuries with regard to its special quality or reputed attributes.
It is a mark of authenticity and ensures that registered authorized users or at least those residing inside the geographic territory are allowed to use the popular product names.
GI tag in India is governed by Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999. It is issued by the Geographical Indications Registry (Chennai).

Benefits of GI Tag

It provides legal protection to Indian Geographical Indications thus preventing unauthorized use of the registered GIs by others.
It promotes economic prosperity of producers of goods produced in a geographical territory.
The GI protection in India leads to recognition of the product in other countries thus boosting exports.

9. COMMITTEE TO REVIEW TRP AGENCIES

Subject : Polity

Context : Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has constituted a committee to review “Guidelines on Television Rating Agencies in India” notified by the Ministry in 2014.

Concept :

The committee will be chaired by Shashi S. Vempati, CEO, Prasar Bharti.

Terms of Reference

Study past recommendations made by various forums on the subject of television rating systems in India and matter incidental thereto;
Study recent recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority on the subject;
Suggest steps for enhancing competition in the sector;
Review of the presently notified guidelines to see if the intended purpose(s) of issuing the guidelines have stood the test of time and has met needs of various stakeholders involve The lacunae, if any, shall be specially addressed by the Committee.

TRP ( Television Rating Points ) :

TRP is the metric used by the marketing and advertising agencies to evaluate viewership.
Anyone who watches television for more than a minute is considered a viewer.
It represents how many people, from which socio-economic categories, watched which channels for how much time during a particular period. This period is one minute as per the international standards.