Daily Prelims Notes 6 July 2022
- July 6, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
6 July 2022
Table Of Contents
- TB in India
- GST exemption in Services
- The relentless march of FPIs to the exit gate
- Draft National Policy for Persons with Disabilities
- China’s Belt and Road Initiative
- Nairobi flies are causing disease in Sikkim
- Restoring Banni grasslands, Gujarat battles invasive tree species
- Karakalpak Protests Reflect the Shattered Promise of Mirziyoyev’s ‘New Uzbekistan’
- Three new ‘exotic’ sub-atomic particles discovered at CERN
- Environment ministry Proposes to soften the provisions of the Environment Protection Act (EPA)
Subject: Schemes
Concept:
- Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis that most often affect the lungs.
- Tuberculosis is curable and preventable.
- TB is spread from person to person through the When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air.
- About one-quarter of the world’s population has latent TB, which means people have been infected by TB bacteria but are not yet ill with the disease and cannot transmit the disease.
- Persons with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco, have a higher risk of falling ill.
WHO and TB
WHO’s post-2015 End TB Strategy, adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2014, aims to end the global TB epidemic as part of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals.
It serves as a blueprint for countries to reduce TB incidence by 80%, TB deaths by 90%, and to eliminate catastrophic costs for TB-affected households by 2030. The Strategy is not a “one size fits all” approach and its success depends on adaptation for diverse country settings
India and TB
India has the highest burden of both tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB based on estimates reported in Global TB Report.
Schemes
- Revised National TB Control Program
- RNTCP uses the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) strategy and reaches over a billion people in 632 districts/reporting units. The RNTCP is responsible for carrying out the Government of India five year TB National Strategic Plans.
- With the RNTCP both diagnosis and treatment of TB are free.
- The initial objectives of the RNTCP in India were: to achieve and maintain a TB treatment success rate of at least 85% among new sputum positive (NSP) patients and to achieve and maintain detection of at least 70% of the estimated new sputum positive people in the community.
- Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY), a DBT scheme for nutritional support, was introduced in April 2018 by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India under the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP). It provides support worth Rs 500/- per month for the duration of treatment to TB patients.
- National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Tuberculosis (2017-2025) with the goal of ending TB by 2025. The key focus areas are:
- Early diagnosis of all the TB patients, prompt treatment with quality assured drugs and treatment regimens along with suitable patient support systems to promote adherence.
- Engaging with the patients seeking care in the private sector.
- Prevention strategies including active case finding and contact tracing in high risk / vulnerable population
- Airborne infection control.
- Multi-sectoral response for addressing social determinants.
Subject: Economy
Context:
Last week, the GST Council recommended doing away with exemptions on some services, including those provided by the RBI, IRDA, SEBI, FSSAI, hotel accommodation priced up to ₹1,000/day and room rent (excluding ICU) exceeding ₹5,000 per day per patient, beside others.
Concept:
- At the time of introduction, 81 categories of services were on the exemption list which was expanded further. Some of the exempted services are:
- Services by Government or a local authority excluding the following services—
(i) services by the Department of Posts by way of speed post, express parcel post, life insurance, and agency services provided to a person other than Government;
(ii) services in relation to an aircraft or a vessel, inside or outside the precincts of a port or an airport;
(iii) transport of goods or passengers; or
(iv) any service, other than services covered under clauses (i) to (iii) above, provided to business entities.
- Services by the Reserve Bank of India
- Services by a foreign diplomatic mission located in India
- Services relating to cultivation of plants and rearing of all life forms of animals, except the rearing of horses, for food, fiber, fuel, raw material or other similar products or agricultural produce.
- Service by way of access to a road or a bridge on payment of toll charges.
- Transmission or distribution of electricity by an electricity transmission or distribution utility.
- Services by way of renting of residential dwelling for use as residence.
- Services provided to the United Nations or a specified international organization.
- Services provided by operators of the Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment Facility to a clinical establishment by way of treatment or disposal of bio-medical waste or the processes incidental thereto.
- Services by a veterinary clinic in relation to health care of animals or birds.
- Services by a specified organisation in respect of a religious pilgrimage facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India, under bilateral arrangement.
- Services by way of collecting or providing news by an independent journalist, Press Trust of India or United News of India.
- Services by an organiser to any person in respect of a business exhibition held outside India.
- Services provided to the Government under any insurance scheme for which total premium is paid by Government
- Services provided to the Government under any training programme for which total expenditure is borne by the Government.
- Services provided by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) to the Central Government or State Governments/Union Territories for implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
3. The relentless march of FPIs to the exit gate
Subject: Economy
Context:
June 2022 witnessed the worst Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) sell-off since March 2020 — when India announced a nationwide lockdown — at ₹50,000 crore.
Their selling actions have triggered a significant decline in benchmark indices, resulting in a drop in market capitalisation of companies.
Concept:
- Foreign portfolio investors are those that invest funds in markets outside of their home country. Investments typically include equities, bonds and mutual funds.
- They are generally not active shareholders and do not exert any control over the companies whose shares they hold.
- FPIs are the largest non-promoter shareholders in the Indian market and their investment decisions have a huge bearing on the stock prices and overall direction of the market.
- The US accounts for a major chunk of FPI investments, followed by Mauritius, Singapore and Luxembourg In India, according to data available from the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL).
Causes of FPI fluctuations:
- Higher relative rate of interest in the country- FPI inflow increases when there is a favourable differential between the real interest rates on offer in the country they aim to invest in, and other markets, but more specifically, compared with the largest economy in the world, the U.S.
- Better growth perspectives-increase certainty about profits and market conditions, thus increases FPI inflows.
- Stability– contingencies like Ukraine War, Covid 19 led FPI outflow to safer destinations. FPI thus tends to exit assets seen as ‘risky’ such as in emerging markets like India, Brazil or South Africa.
- Liberalised regulatory regime-increases ease of FPI inflows
- Depreciation-If the dollar strengthens against the rupee( rupee depreciates), then an investor is able to realise fewer dollars for a given quantum of rupee assets liquidated, leading to FPI outflows. This happens as FPIs sell rupees in exchange for their home market currency.
- Inflation-if inflation quickens in the market where the investor has placed funds in, then real returns decrease leading to FPI outflows.
Impact of FPI outflows:
- Currency depreciation-FPIs sell rupees in exchange for their home market currency. As supply of the rupee in the market rises, its value declines.
- Rupee depreciation is never good for the overall equity market, and foreign investors pulling out can result in a decline in stocks and equity mutual fund investments.
- Balance of Payments Deficit-a lower rupee against the dollar keeps import bills higher, pushing inflation even higher than it is now. A strong dollar is good for export-oriented companies, but bad for import-oriented industries such as oil, gas and chemicals and capital account.
- Inflation-With the dip in the rupee, oil imports and other imported components will get costlier, which will further lead to higher inflation.
Foreign Investment means any investment made by a person resident outside India on a repatriable basis in capital instruments of an Indian company or to the capital of an LLP. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is the investment through capital instruments by a person resident outside India (a) in an unlisted Indian company; or (b) in 10 percent or more of the post issue paid-up equity capital on a fully diluted basis of a listed Indian company. Foreign Portfolio Investment is any investment made by a person resident outside India in capital instruments where such investment is (a) less than 10 percent of the post issue paid-up equity capital on a fully diluted basis of a listed Indian company or (b) less than 10 percent of the paid up value of each series of capital instruments of a listed Indian company. Market capitalization is the aggregate valuation of the company based on its current share price and the total number of outstanding stocks. It is calculated by multiplying the current market price of the company’s share with the total outstanding shares of the company. Market capitalization is one of the most important characteristics that helps the investor determine the returns and the risk in the share. It also helps the investors choose the stock that can meet their risk and diversification criterion. For instance, a company has 20 million outstanding shares and the current market price of each share is Rs100. Market capitalization of this company will be 200,00,000 x 100=Rs 200 crore. |
4. Draft National Policy for Persons with Disabilities
Subject: Governance
Context: Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) has extended the time for the public to submit comments on the draft national policy for persons with disabilities
Draft National Policy for Persons with Disabilities: Key points
- According to the draft policy, the current national programme on prevention of disabilities focused on “traditional causes”, but there were other causes of disability, such as malnourishment, medical negligence, socio-cultural factors and impairment caused by disasters.
- The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPD) Act, 2016 expanded the number of disabilities from seven to 21. However, the issue of disability remained un-resolved on majority of the issues.
- The draft policy called for a comprehensive national programme on prevention of disabilities and other medical conditions that could manifest as a disability.
- The draft stated that one-third of most disabilities in children were preventable, if detected early.
- The draft policy also said the States and Union Territories should add a provision on compliance with the RPD Act when granting permission or recognition to educational institutions.
- Besides, a module on disability should be included in MBBS and other medical courses for better understanding of the issue.
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will be directed to issue necessary guidelines for making modification in the personal vehicles being used by persons with disabilities as per requirement.
- Revision of the policy was required as the existing national policy on disability was drafted in 2006, after which India signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007.
National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2006
- Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment formulated the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities in February 2006 which deals with Physical, Educational & Economic Rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.
Focus of the policy
- Prevention of Disabilities – The policy calls for programme for prevention of diseases, which result in disability and the creation of awareness regarding measures to be taken for prevention of disabilities.
- Rehabilitation Measures – Rehabilitation measures includes physical rehabilitation, educational rehabilitation, and economic rehabilitation.
- Women with disabilities – Special programmes will be developed for education, employment and providing of other rehabilitation services to women with disabilities keeping in view their special needs.
- Children with Disabilities – Children with disabilities are the most vulnerable group and need special attention. The Government would strive to: –
- Ensure right to care, protection and security for children with disabilities;
- Ensure the right to development with dignity and equality creating an enabling environment where children can exercise their rights, enjoy equal opportunities and full participation in accordance with various statutes.
- Ensure inclusion and effective access to education, health, vocational training along with specialized rehabilitation services to children with disabilities.
- Ensure the right to development as well as recognition of special needs and of care, and protection of children with severe disabilities.
- Barrier-free environment: The goal of barrier free design is to provide an environment that supports the independent functioning of individuals so that they can participate without assistance, in everyday activities.
- Issue of Disability Certificates – The Government of India has notified guidelines for evaluation of the disabilities and procedure for certification. The Government will ensure that the persons with disabilities obtain the disability certificates without any difficulty in the shortest possible time by adoption of simple, transparent and client-friendly procedures.
5. China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Subject: IR
Context: At the recently concluded summit of G7 leaders in Germany, United States President Joe Biden and his allies unveiled their $600-billion plan called the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Intelligence (PGII) to build infrastructure projects in developing and middle-income countries. This is being seen as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), valued at a trillion U.S. dollars by some experts.
What is China’s Belt and Road Initiative?
- In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia, expressed his vision to build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, to break the “bottleneck” in Asian connectivity. This vision led to the birth of the BRI.
- More than 60 countries have now joined BRI agreements with China, with infrastructure projects under the initiative being planned or under construction in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.
- To finance BRI projects, China offers huge loans at commercial interest rates that countries have to pay within a fixed number of years.
- The west has accused China of debt-trapping by extending “predatory loans” that force countries to cede key assets to China.
- However, research indicates that low and middle-income countries are often the ones to approach China after not being able to secure loans from elsewhere.
- In recent years, the BRI seems to have experienced a slowing down as annual Chinese lending to countries under the initiative slimmed from its peak of $125 billion in 2015 to around $50 to 55 billion in 2021.
BRI’s investments in Pakistan
- On his 2015 visit to Pakistan, Mr. Xi and then Pakistan Prime Minister unveiled the BRI’s flagship project and its biggest one in a single country the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
- China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
- China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a collection of infrastructure projects that are under construction throughout Pakistan since 2013.
- At the centre of the CPEC was the $700 million development of the city of Gwadar into a smart port city that would become the “Singapore of Pakistan”.
- CPEC passes through the disputed region of Kashmir where Indian and Pakistani border guards have occasionally exchanged fire across the Line of Control. The Government of India, which shares tense relations with Pakistan, objects to the CPEC project as upgrade works to the Karakoram Highway are taking place in Gilgit Baltistan; territory that India claims as its own.
- May 2022, Chinese power firms operating in Pakistan threatened to close down coal plants if the latter did not pay dues worth 300 billion in Pakistani rupees (approximately $1.5 billion).
What about Sri Lanka?
- In Sri Lanka, multiple infrastructure projects that were being financed by China came under the fold of the BRI after it was launched in 2013.
- In 2021, Colombo ejected India and Japan out of a deal to develop the East Container Terminal at the Colombo port and got China to take up the project.
- Unable to service the huge loan and incurring $300 million in losses due to delays, the government handed Hambantota port to a Chinese state-owned company on a 99-year lease in 2017.
- Other key projects under BRI include the development of the Colombo International Container Terminal, the Central Expressway and the Hambantota International Airport among others.
Are there projects in Afghanistan?
- Afghanistan has not comprehensively been brought into the BRI, despite a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) being signed with China in 2016.
How have projects from India and China progressed in Maldives?
- One of the most prominent BRI projects undertaken in the Maldives is the two km long China-Maldives Friendship Bridge — a $200 million four lane bridge.
- Most of China’s investment in the Maldives happened under former President Abdullah Yameen, seen as pro-China. Over the years, opposition protests grew against the large borrowing from China and Mr. Yameen was defeated in 2018.
- The Maldives’ current regime of President has tried to distance itself from the BRI, focusing more on its ‘India First’ policy.
- India has also in recent years sought greater ties with the Maldives under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
What about Bangladesh?
- Bangladesh, which joined the BRI in 2016, has been promised the second-highest investment (about $40 billion) in South Asia after Pakistan.
- In 2016, when the Chinese government promised Dhaka BRI investment worth around $40 billion, India followed up in 2017 by extending a $5 billion line of credit and economic assistance.
- BRI projects include China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridges, special economic zones, the $689.35 million-Karnaphuli River tunnel project, upgradation of the Chittagong port, and a rail line between the port and China’s Yunnan province.
6. Nairobi flies are causing disease in Sikkim
Subject: Environment
- It is also called Kenyan flies or dragon bugs, are small, beetle-like insects that belong to two species, Paederus eximius and Paederus sabaeus.
- Native to East Africa. Like most insects, the beetles are attracted by bright light. thrive in areas with high rainfall
- the insects attack pests that consume crops and are beneficial for humans — but at times, they come in contact with humans directly are cause harm.
- Health officials say these flies do not bite, but if disturbed while sitting on anyone’s skin, they release a potent acidic substance pederin, that causes burns.
- Outside Africa, outbreaks have happened in India, Japan, Israel, and Paraguay in the past.
7. Restoring Banni grasslands- Gujarat battles invasive tree species
Subject: Environment
- Banni is the largest grassland of Asia situated near the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.
- It is spread over 2,618 kilometres and accounts for almost 45% of the pastures in Gujarat.
- Two ecosystems, wetlands and grasslands, are mixed side by side in Banni.
- Banni grasslands, traditionally, were managed following a system of rotational grazing.
- Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has identified this grassland reserve as one of the last remaining habitats of the cheetah in India and a possible reintroduction site for the species.
- Maldharis are a tribal herdsmen community inhabiting
- It is distributed in eight districts and three different climatic regions — Kutch, Saurashtra and central Gujarat. A majority of grasslands in Gujarat (41 per cent) are found in the Kutch district. Banni grassland was declared a Protected Forest in 1955, under the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
- Banni is also home to the Indian wolf, jackal, Indian fox, desert fox, desert cat, caracal, hyena, chinkara, Nilgai, wild boar, Indian hare, common monitor lizard — and the cheetah before it became extinct.
- Deterioration of the grassland taking place due to “heavy uncontrolled grazing”, widespread ingress of Prosopis Juliflora (aninvasive alien species), dams constructed on rivers flowing towards Banni, periodic occurrence of droughts and continuous increase in soil salinity.
- India’s first In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) calf of Banni breed of buffaloes in Gujarat depends on Banni grass.
What are Banni Buffaloes?
- Banni buffaloes are also known as “Kutchi” or “Kundi”. It is a breed of buffalo found primarily in the Kutch district of Gujarat.
- This breed of buffaloes is usually bred and preserved by a local community found in Kutch, called the ‘Maldharis‘.
- Banni Buffaloes has higher milk production potentials and is also more disease resilient when compared to other common breeds. They are also well-adapted to survive extreme weather conditions such as water scarcity, frequent droughts, low humidity and high temperatures.
8. Karakalpak Protests Reflect the Shattered Promise of Mirziyoyev’s ‘New Uzbekistan’
Subject: IR
- A proposal to downgrade the autonomous region to a province set off massive protests.
- Karakalpakstan, which constitutes approximately 40 percent of Uzbekistani territory, is an ethnically diverse region populated largely by ethnic minorities – Karakalpaks and Kazakhs
- In the Soviet period, Karakalpakstan was merged with the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, though it still remained an autonomous republic. The current version of the Uzbek Constitution states that Karakalpakstan enjoys not just political autonomy, but even rights to sovereignty and secession. The latter can be exercised by means of an independent referendum, per the constitution.
- The proposed amendments would delete the word “sovereign” when mentioning Karakalpakstan, deprive Karakalpakstan of the right to secede, and require that the Karakalpak legal documents be in line not only with the Uzbek Constitution but also with the laws of Uzbekistan.
- The ongoing protests have so far focused only on the symbolic status of Karakalpakstan. Protesters have not demanded Karakalpakstan’s actual independence, at least for now. Instead, they want a stronger commitment from Tashkent to respect the existing political arrangements and pay more attention to the region.
- More importantly, however, the protests are indicative of deeper socioeconomic problems that plague Uzbekistan. Both Karakalpakstan and other remote Uzbek provinces have been economically deprived for a long time. The ecological problems related to the Aral Sea specific to Karakalpakstan have never been resolved. The investment levels in the region remain very low, hampering economic growth. All that combined with a rapidly growing population is a recipe for a political explosion.
9. Three new ‘exotic’ sub-atomic particles discovered at CERN
Subject: Science
- The Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment — which is investigating the slight differences between matter and antimatter by studying a type of particle called the “beauty quark”, or “b quark” — has observed three never-before-seen particles. It seeks to unlock the building blocks of the universe in Big Bang recreation.
- The three “exotic” additions — a new kind of “pentaquark” and the first-ever pair of “tetraquarks” — to the growing list of new hadrons found at the LHC will help physicists better understand how quarks bind together into these composite particles,
- CERN — Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire — is the original name of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, which runs the particle accelerator complex that houses the LHC, the world’s largest and most complex collider.
- Quarks are elementary particles that come in six “flavours”: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. They usually combine together in groups of twos and threes to form hadrons such as the protons and neutrons that make up atomic nuclei.
- But they can also combine into four-quark and five-quark particles, called tetraquarks and pentaquarks. But they can also combine into four-quark and five-quark particles, called tetraquarks and pentaquarks.
- According to the CERN release, most exotic hadrons discovered in the past two decades are tetraquarks or pentaquarks containing a charm quark and a charm antiquark — with the remaining two or three quarks being an up, down or strange quark or their antiquarks.
- CERN is based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border. It has 22 member states. found the elusive Higgs boson in 2012.
- Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
- It is a kind of atom smasher machine.
- It is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator.
- It is essentially two 16-mile-round rings that overlap in four places.
- It consists of a 27-kilometre ring of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way.
- Higgs boson particle
- In 2012, the Nobel-winning discovery of the Higgs boson(also known as ‘God particle’) validated the Standard Model of physics, which also predicts that about 60% of the time a Higgs boson will decay to a pair of bottom quarks.
- In 1960s Peter Higgs was the first person to suggest that this particle might exist.
- The Higgs particle is a boson. Bosons are thought to be particles which are responsible for all physical forces. Other known bosons are the photon, the W and Z bosons, and the gluon.
10. Environment ministry Proposes to soften the provisions of the Environment Protection Act (EPA)
Subject: Environment
- Environment ministry Proposes to soften the provisions of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) by replacing a clause that provides for imprisoning violators with one that only requires them to pay a fine.
- However, in case of serious violations which lead to grievous injury or loss of life, they shall be covered under the provision of Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 24 of EP Act.
- Two major changes proposed are appointing an “adjudication officer” who would decide on a penalty in cases of environmental violations
- The Funds collected as penalties would be accrued in an “Environmental Protection Fund”. In case of contraventions of the Act, the penalties could extend to anywhere from ₹5 lakh to ₹5 crore,
- the Environment Protection Act provisions will be in force for penal provisions of the single use plastic ban
- The removal of prison terms also applies to the Air Act, which is the corner stone legislation for dealing with air pollution, and the Water Act, which deals with violations to water bodies.
- The roots of the enactment of the EPA lies in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm in June,1972 (Stockholm Conference).
- No Court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act except on a complaint made by:
The Central Government or any authority on behalf of the former.
Constitutional Provisions:
- The EPA Act was enacted under Article 253 of the Indian Constitution which provides for the enactment of legislation for giving effect to international agreements.
- Article 48A of the Constitution specifies that the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.
- Article 51A further provides that every citizen shall protect the environment.