Daily Prelims Notes 8 August 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

8 August 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Record coral cover doesn’t necessarily mean the Great Barrier Reef is in good health
2. All states had Covid fight role, federal structure is a model for world: PM Modi
3. From Nalanda ruins, ‘university of future’ is ready with new campus, courses
4. Tax to GDP ratio
5. Food Inflation
6. ISRO’s First Flight of SSLV Rocket Dashes Hopes; A Look at Space Body’s Some of the Failed Missions
7. Researchers zero in on a special type of RNA to combat cancer
8. Koppal

1. Record coral cover doesn’t necessarily mean the Great Barrier Reef is in good health

Subject : Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: The highest levels of coral cover, within the past 36 years, has been recorded in the northern and central parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR).

Recent Findings-

• Coral cover in parts of the Great Barrier Reef is at a record high, according to new data from the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
• In the north of the reef, coral cover usually fluctuates between 20 percent and 30 percent. Currently, it’s at 36 percent, the highest level recorded since monitoring began more than three decades ago.
• But this doesn’t necessarily mean that the reef is in good health.
• High coral cover findings can be deceptive because they can result from only a few dominant species that grow rapidly after disturbance (such as mass bleaching).
• These same corals, however, are extremely susceptible to disturbance and are likely to die out within a few years.
• Without more information at the level of individual species, it is impossible to understand how much of the Great Barrier Reef has been lost, or recovered, since the last mass bleaching event.
• This level of coral recovery, after a disturbing decade that saw the reef endure six mass coral bleaching events, four severe tropical cyclones, active outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish, and water quality impacts following floods, raises the question- what’s going on?

What is a coral reef-

• Corals are invertebrate animals belonging to a large group of colourful and fascinating animals called Cnidaria. They are the largest living structures on the planet
• Each coral is called a polyp and thousands of such polyps live together to form a colony, which grow when polyps multiply to make copies of themselves.
• These polyps have microscopic algae called zooxanthellae living within their tissues. The corals and algae have a mutualistic relationship. The coral provides the zooxanthellae with the compounds necessary for photosynthesis.
• In return, the zooxanthellae supply the coral with organic products of photosynthesis, like carbohydrates, which are utilized by the coral polyps for the synthesis of their calcium carbonate skeletons.
• In addition to providing corals with essential nutrients, zooxanthellae are responsible for the unique and beautiful colors of corals.
• Coral reefs are created by millions of tiny polyps forming large carbonate structures. Coral reefs are the largest living structure on the planet, and the only living structure to be visible from space.

Corals are of two types — hard corals and soft corals.

Hard corals extract calcium carbonate from seawater to build hard, white coral exoskeletons. Hard corals are in a way the engineers of reef ecosystems and measuring the extent of hard coral is a widely-accepted metric for measuring the condition of coral reefs.

Soft corals attach themselves to such skeletons and older skeletons built by their ancestors. Soft corals also add their own skeletons to the hard structure over the years. These growing multiplying structures gradually form coral reef

What are Great barrier reefs-

• The Great Barrier Reef spans 2,300 kilometers along the eastern coast of Australia, comprising more than 3,000 individual reefs.
• It is an exceptionally diverse ecosystem that features more than 12,000 animal species, plus many thousand more species of plankton and marine flora.

Significance of Coral reefs:

• Coral reefs support over 25% of marine biodiversity even as they take up only 1% of the seafloor.
• The marine life supported by reefs further fuels global fishing industries. Besides, coral reef systems generate $2.7 trillion in annual economic value through goods and service trade and tourism.
• In Australia, the Barrier Reef, in pre-COVID times, generated $4.6 billion annually through tourism and employed over 60,000 people including divers and guides

Coral bleaching :

• Corals share a symbiotic relationship with single-celled algae called zooxanthellae. The algae prepares food for corals through photosynthesis and also gives them their vibrant colouration.
• When exposed to conditions like heat stress, pollution, or high levels of ocean acidity, the zooxanthellae start producing reactive oxygen species not beneficial to the corals. So, the corals kick out the colour-giving algae from their polyps, exposing their pale white exoskeleton and leading to coral starvation as corals cannot produce their own food. Bleached corals can survive depending on the levels of bleaching and the recovery of sea temperatures to normal levels.
• Severe bleaching and prolonged stress in the external environment can lead to coral death

Mass Bleaching

The concern is that in the past decade, mass bleaching events have become more closely spaced in time.

According to the Australian government’s scientists, 91% of the reefs it had surveyed in March were affected by bleaching

Threat to Great barrier reef-

• The reef has been teetering on the edge of receiving an “in-danger” listing from the World Heritage Committee. And it was recently described in the State of the Environment Report as being in a poor and deteriorating state.
• To protect the Great Barrier Reef, we need to routinely monitor and report on its condition. The Australian Institute of Marine Science’s long-term monitoring program has been collating and delivering this information since 1985.
• The latest report provides a robust and valuable synopsis of how coral cover has changed at 87 reefs across three sectors (north, central, and south) over the past 36 years.

The findings of the report-

• Overall, the long-term monitoring team found coral cover has increased on most reefs.
• The level of coral cover on reefs near Cape Grenville and Princess Charlotte Bay in the northern sector has recovered from bleaching, with two reefs having more than 75 percent cover.
• In the central sector, where the coral cover has historically been lower than in the north and south, coral cover is now at a region-wide high, at 33 percent.
• The southern sector has a dynamic coral cover record. In the late 1980s coral cover surpassed 40 percent, before dropping to a region-wide low of 12 percent in 2011 after Cyclone Hamish.
• The region is currently experiencing outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish. And yet, coral cover in this area is still relatively high at 34 percent.

Findings vs. Reality-

• In the Australian Institute of Marine Science’s report, reef recovery relates solely to an increase in coral cover, so let’s unpack this term.
  • Coral cover is a broad proxy metric that indicates habitat conditions. It’s relatively easy data to collect and report on and is the most widely used monitoring metric on coral reefs.
  • The finding of high coral cover may signify a reef in good condition and an increase in coral cover after disturbance may signify a recovering reef.
  • But in this instance, it’s more likely the reef is being dominated by only a few species, as the report states that branching and plating Acropora species have driven the recovery of coral cover.
• Acropora coral is renowned for its “boom and bust” life cycle.
• After disturbances such as a cyclone, Acropora species function as pioneers. They quickly recruit and colonize bare space, and the laterally growing plate-like species can rapidly cover large areas.
• Fast-growing Acropora corals tend to dominate during the early phase of recovery after disturbances such as the recent series of mass bleaching events.
• However, these same corals are often susceptible to wave damage, disease, or coral bleaching and tend to go bust within a few years.

The loopholes in the study-

• Inferring that a reef has been recovered by a person being towed behind a boat to obtain a rapid visual estimate of coral cover is like flying in a helicopter and saying a bushfire-hit forest has recovered because the canopy has grown back.
• It provides no information about diversity, or the abundance and health of other animals and plants that live in and among the trees, or coral.
• While there’s no data to prove or disprove it, it’s also probable that extinctions or local declines of coral-affiliated marine life, such as coral-eating fishes, crustaceans, and molluscs have also occurred.
• Without more information at the level of individual species, it is impossible to understand how much of the Great Barrier Reef has been lost, or recovered, since the last mass bleaching event.

Prospects of the report-

• The study, published last year, examined 44 years of coral distribution records around Jiigurru, Lizard Island, at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef.
• It suggested that 28 of 368 species of hard coral recorded at that location haven’t been seen for at least a decade, and are at risk of local extinction.
• Lizard Island is one location where the coral cover has rapidly increased since the devastating 2016-17 bleaching event. Yet, there is still a real risk of local extinctions of coral species have occurred.
• Based on the coral cover data, it’s tempting to be optimistic. But given more frequent and severe heatwaves and cyclones are predicted in the future, it’s wise to be cautious about the reef’s perceived recovery or resilience.

2. All states had Covid fight role, federal structure is a model for world: PM Modi

Subject :Polity

Section: Federalism

Context:

Speaking at the NITI Aayog’s Governing Council meeting, the Prime Minister also gave credit to state governments which, he said, focused on grassroots delivery of public services to the people through cooperation across political lines.

Composition of NITI Aayog

• Chairperson: Prime Minister
• Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by Prime-Minister
• Governing Council: Chief Ministers of all states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
• Regional Council: To address specific regional issues, Comprising Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors Chaired by Prime Minister or his nominee.
• Adhoc Membership: 2 member in ex-officio capacity from leading Research institutions on rotational basis.
• Ex-Officio membership: Maximum four from Union council of ministers to be nominated by Prime minister.
• Chief Executive Officer: Appointed by Prime-minister for a fixed tenure, in rank of Secretary to Government of India.
• Special Invitees: Experts, Specialists with domain knowledge nominated by Prime-minister.

NITI Aayog Hubs

• Team India Hub acts as interface between States and Centre.
• Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds the think-tank acumen of NITI Aayog.
• The Aayog planned to come out with three documents — 3-year action agenda, 7-year medium-term strategy paper and 15-year vision document.

Objectives and Features

• NITI Aayog is developing itself as a state-of-the-art resource centre with the necessary knowledge and skills that will enable it to act with speed, promote research and innovation, provide strategic policy vision for the government, and deal with contingent issues. It is supported by an attached office, Development Monitoring and Evaluation Organisation (DMEO), a flagship initiative, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and an autonomous body, National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development (NILERD).

NITI Aayog’s entire gamut of activities can be divided into four main heads:

1. Policy and Programme Framework
2. Cooperative Federalism
3. Monitoring and Evaluation
4. Think Tank, and Knowledge and Innovation Hub

Major Initiatives of NITI Aayog

• SDG India Index
• Composite Water Management Index
• Atal Innovation Mission
• SATH Project.
• Aspirational District Programme
• School Education Quality Index
• District Hospital Index
• Health Index
• Agriculture Marketing And Farmer Friendly reform Index
• India Innovation Index
• Women Transforming India Awards
• Good Governance Index
• Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)
• Strategy for New India at 75
• ‘Methanol Economy’ programme
• e-AMRIT Portal
  • E-Amrit is a one-stop destination for all information on electric vehicles—busting myths around the adoption of EVs, their purchase, investment opportunities, policies, subsidies, etc.
  • The portal has been developed and hosted by NITI Aayog under a collaborative knowledge exchange programme with the UK government and as part of the UK–India Joint Roadmap 2030, signed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.
  • It intends to complement initiatives of the government on raising awareness on EVs and sensitizing consumers on the benefits of switching to electric vehicles.

3. From Nalanda ruins, ‘university of future’ is ready with new campus, courses

Subject :History

Section: Art and Culture

• Now, as the new campus of Nalanda University prepares for a formal inauguration, the focus is on how best it can retain the cultural and architectural ethos of Nalanda Mahavihara, the 5th-12th Century AD university that is considered to be one of the greatest centres of learning in ancient India.

Nalanda Mahavira

• The ruins of ancient Nalanda Mahavihara (also known as old Nalanda University) of Bihar has been included in the List of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.
• Nalanda Mahavihara ruins comprise the archaeological remains of monastic-cum-scholastic from the 5th century BC to the 13th century AD.
• Nalanda Mahavihara was founded by Kumargupta I(Shakraditya) of the Gupta dynasty in 5th century CE. It was the earliest planned university in the Indian subcontinent.
• It was patronized by various rulers including King Harshavardhana of Kannauj (7th century CE) and the Pala rulers (8th to 12th century CE) as well as various scholars.
• Presently, it is preserved in number of remains of stupas (temple-like structure), shrines and viharas (residential-cum-scholastic structure) and important art works in stucco, stone and metal.
• It’s also been referred to as “one of the first great universities in recorded history.”
• It is a large Buddhist monastery in India’s ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar).
• The major monks are reported to have been Mahayana monks such as Asnaga and Vasubandhu.
• Even though it taught about all sects of Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism was the primary subject of instruction, although other secular disciplines like grammar, logic, epistemology, and science were also covered.
• The University had ten temples, meditation centers, and the world’s largest library, which was divided into three buildings: Ratnasagara (nine-story building), Ratnadadhi, and Ratnaranjaka, and housed not only religious manuscripts but also a vast collection of books on literature, astrology, philosophy, science, warfare, and other subjects.
• Famous scholars of Nalanda are Nagarjuna (Madhyamika Shunyavad) and Aryabhatta, the astronomer.
• There were lively arguments and debates going on. Harsha is supposed to have invited a thousand educated Nalanda monks to attend the Kanauj philosophical meeting.
• During King Harsha’s reign, Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang visited Nalanda University and wrote a detailed account of the university.
  • Hiuen Tsang attended university for two years.
• I-Tsing, a Chinese scholar, stated that Nalanda housed 2,000 students and was supported by money from 200 villages.
• A large number of students had come to study from China, Mongolia, Tibet, Korea, and other Asian countries.
• Archaeological evidence also indicates contact with the Indonesian Shailendra dynasty, one of whose kings built a monastery in the complex.

4. Tax to GDP ratio

Subject: Economy

Section: Fiscal Policy

Context

India’s tax to GDP ratio is higher than proclaimed and it is time to change the quality of expenditure.

Details

• Taxes, fiscal deficit, and debt are interrelated —
  •  lower tax revenue means higher fiscal deficit, for the same level of expenditures, and higher deficit means higher debt.
  • Thus all the three have an effect on growth and/or inflation.
• Tax to GDP ratio for India 
  • It is around  10-11 percent of GDP and it has stayed at close to that level for the last 20 years
  • In comparison with its peers, India’s Tax to GDP ratio is much lower (Central tax to GDP ratio).
  • However according to the World Revenue Longitudinal Data for- 1990-2019:

• Further, tax-GDP ratio adjusted for PPP per capita income–
  • Tax gap — the difference between actual and actual adjusted for level of income.

• World average tax gap is -1.3 percent
• India has a tax gap +1.2 per cent for the nine years 2011-2019. So, India’s tax GDP ratio averages 2.5 percentage points more than an average economy.
• However, there is little evidence that a higher tax/GDP ratio helps growth.
  •  According to one theory-higher taxation would lower the fiscal deficit and increase growth.
    • Triple whammy-if tax rates were lowered, revenues would decline, the fiscal deficit &  inequality would increase.
  • However, according to another theory (Laffer curve) -higher corporate tax rates stifle investment, increase tax non-compliance, and lower growth.
• India’s Experience:
  • In september2019 the corporate tax rate was lowered by around 10 percentage points.
  • For the three months April-June 2022, corporate tax revenues, y-o-y, increased by 30 per cent.
  • Using 2019-20 as a base, corporate tax revenue has increased by 66 per cent, GDP by 33 per cent — an average tax buoyancy of 2.0 over three years.
  • Tentatively, the tax-GDP ratio in the fiscal year 2022-23 will average over 18 per cent in India, a level close to Japan and the US.
• The Indian economy should thus shift away from simplistic notions of the tax-GDP ratio being low to expenditures and quality of expenditures.

5. Food Inflation

Subject: Economy

Section: Inflation

Context

Food inflation may ease faster than expected.

Details:

• The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index (FPI) averaged 140.9 points in July, 8.6% down from its previous month’s level and marking the steepest monthly drop since October 2008.
• Between March and July, the FPI has cumulatively declined by 11.8%.
  • This has been led by vegetable oils and cereals, whose average prices have fallen even more.

Factors determining food prices:

There were four major supply-side shock drivers of the great global food inflation especially since October 2020:

• Weather–
  • Droughts in Ukraine (2020-21) and South America (2021-22) impacted sunflower and soybean supplies.
  • March-April 2022 heat wave that devastated India’s wheat crop.
• Pandemic
  • Example-  Malaysia’s oil palm plantations hampered as done by migrant labourers from Indonesia and Bangladesh. 
• Russia-Ukraine war
  • It led to supply disruptions from the two countries.
  • In 2019-20 (a non-war, non-drought year), these two accounted for 28.5% of the world’s wheat, 18.8% of corn, 34.4% of barley and 78.1% of sunflower oil exports.
• Export controls
  • Shortage concerns at home triggers such actions
  • Example-palm oil by Indonesia, wheat by India during March-May 2022.

Causes of declining food prices:

• Global factors:
  • Resumption of exports from Ukraine via the Black Sea.
  • The UN-backed agreement for unblocking of the Black Sea trade route also provides for unimpeded shipments of Russian food and fertilisers.
  • Indonesia has lifted its ban on palm oil exports.
  • The US, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay are set to harvest bumper soybean crops. 
• Domestic factor:
  • Above average rainfall across the South Peninsula, Central and Northwest India has boosted acreages under most crops this kharif (monsoon) season.
    • The benefits of groundwater recharge would also flow to the rabi crop.
  • Higher buffer stock with the government.
  • International exportable surpluses, primarily from Canada and Australia, are also higher than last year’s by about 0.5 mt each for both pulses.
  • Policy of duty-free imports of arhar, urad and masur till March 31.

 A good monsoon would also mean more fodder and water for animals, further reducing livestock input costs and inflationary pressures on milk, egg and meat.

6. ISRO’s First Flight of SSLV Rocket Dashes Hopes; A Look at Space Body’s Some of the Failed Missions

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Space technology

Context:

• In its maiden SSLV mission, the launch vehicle carried The Earth Observation Satellite EOS-02 and the co-passenger student satellite AzaadiSAT
• In yet another setback for India’s space agency on its launch missions, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday said the satellites onboard its maiden Small Satellite Launch Vehicle “are no longer usable” after the SSLV-D1 placed them in an elliptical orbit instead of a circular one in Earth’s low orbits.

Other Failed Mission of ISRO

• The first major satellite failure for the ISRO came on August 10, 1979, when the country’s first experimental flight of SLV-3 carrying Rohini Technology Payload could not place the satellite into its intended orbit.
• SROSS-1 , a 150 kg satellite carrying scientific instruments, was launched onboard the first ASLV (Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle) developmental flight on March 24, 1987. However, it failed to reach Earth’s orbi
• Dubbed as one of trusted ISRO’s workhorses, the PSLV did not get success in its first flight. However, after the successful launch next year, it emerged as a reliable and versatile launch vehicle for the space agency.
• Launch vehicle GSLV-F02, which was the country’s first attempt at a heavy communication satellite, also failed.
• The PSLV-C39, which was supposed to launch IRNSS-1H, failed in its 41st flight. Despite having normal lift-off, satellites were separated within the heat shield, resulting in the failure of the mission.
• ISRO’s second mission to the moon Chandrayaan-2 orbiter was launched in 2019. However, this mission also failed when the lander crashed on the lunar surface instead of gently landing. Lander and rover both were destroyed.
• The launch of an earth observations satellite onboard GSLV Mk 2 rocket GISAT-1 had failed barely 350 seconds after its launch from India’s spaceport. ISRO’s initial analysis identified “a technical anomaly in the cryogenic stage” as a reason behind the failure.

Small Satellite Launch Vehicle

• The SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle) aims to cater to the market for the launch of small satellites into Earth’s low orbits that has emerged in recent years to cater to the needs of developing countries, universities for small satellites, and private corporations.
• It is the smallest vehicle weighing only 110-tonne. It will take only 72 hours to integrate, unlike the 70 days taken now for a launch vehicle.
• It can carry satellites weighing up to 500 kg to a low earth orbit while the tried and tested Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) can launch satellites weighing in the range of 1000 kg.
• SSLV has a capability to launch up to 500 kg satellite mass into 500 km Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 300 kg to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
• It is a 3 stage Launch Vehicle configured with three Solid Propulsion Stages and liquid propulsion based Velocity Trimming Module (VTM) as a terminal stage.
• It is perfectly suited for launching multiple microsatellites at a time and supports multiple orbital drop-offs.
• The key features of SSLV are low cost, with low turn-around time, flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, launch on demand feasibility, minimal launch infrastructure requirements, etc.
• One of the mandates of the newly-created ISRO commercial arm, New Space India Limited (NSIL) is to mass-produce and manufacture the SSLV and the more powerful PSLV in partnership with the private sector in India through technology transfers.

7. Researchers zero in on a special type of RNA to combat cancer

Subject :Science  and Technology

Section: Bio  Technology

• Among the several types of RNAs, the micro-RNA, or miRNA, influences how genes make proteins. In other words, miRNA can kill a cell or help it proliferate. (miRNA is different from mRNA, or messenger RNA, which has been in the news recently as a coronavirus vaccine.)
• There is ongoing research to find out which miRNA works best for which type of cancer, how to make it and how to deliver it into the body. This approach to cancer therapy gains even more importance when compared with conventional cancer therapies such as chemo, radiation and surgery, which end up killing the good cells of the body, too.
• Chennai researchers identify a micro-RNA that kills breast cancer cells by weakening their defence against debilitating oxidation
• In this cancer, especially among Indian women, a protein called SLC7A11 gets over-produced in the cancer cells.
• The traditional way of treating this is to use drugs such as sulfasalazine to inhibit the production of this protein.
• In the latest development, the researchers have identified an miRNA, called miR-5096, as the one that is effective against breast cancer.
• miR-5096 was found to induce cell death by suppressing the SLC7A11 protein. The cell death occurs by a process known as ferroptosis
• Ferroptosis is a way of killing cells (programmed cell death) that was discovered a decade ago, where cells die when iron accumulates inside them. Now, iron means rust, and the anti-oxidants in the body fight this rust. This way, the accumulated iron uses up all the anti-oxidants in the cell, leaving the cell membrane defenceless against the oxidation that happens naturally. Cell membranes are made up of lipids and proteins. The lipids get oxidised (called lipid peroxidation) and the cell membrane collapses, killing the cell.
• Researchers used bio-informatic target prediction tools like TargetScan, miR-WALK, and got an indication that miR-5096 might target the protein SLC7A11.

States holding up results of Economic Census: Centre

• The Centre has blamed the States for a prolonged delay in releasing the findings of the Seventh Economic Census, a critical compendium of formal and informal non-farm enterprises operating across the country, in a submission to the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance.
• Conducted every five years, the EC, which also captures the employment creation by each firm, their ownership pattern and sources of finance at a granular level, was last carried out in 2013-14.
• It is being carried out by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) in collaboration with Common Service Centre (CSC), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under Ministry of Electronics and IT.
• It was held in 1978 for the first time
• For the first time, an IT-based digital platform is being used for data capture, validation, report generation and dissemination will be used.
• The government had planned to use the 7 th EC data to create a Statistical Business Register or SBR that can be tapped to obtain critical inputs on business demography for policy interventions by government agencies at the Central and State levels.
• The EC database may also provide insights into evolving nature of entrepreneurship; corresponding skilling requirement and employment potential, etc. Future economic censuses are expected to update the SBR.

Daily Mapping

8. Koppal

Subject: Geography

Section: Map

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised Karnataka’s effort in toy manufacturing cluster in Koppal.
The Koppal Toy Cluster (KTC) is the first such infrastructure in the country which became operation in April 2022.

Concept :

Kinnal has an immensely rich artistic heritage. It was once a flourishing centre for crafts, the most well-known being exquisite carvings in wood. The famous mural paintings in the Pampapateshwara Temple, and the intricate work on the wooden chariot at Hampi, are said to be the work of the ancestors of the Kinhal artisans of today.

The artisans are called chitragara. Lightweight wood is used for the toys. The paste used for joining the various parts is made of tamarind seeds and pebbles. Jute rags, soaked, slivered into pieces, dried, powdered, and mixed with saw dust and tamarind seed paste is made into kitta. A mixture of pebble powder paste with liquid gum is used for embossing the ornamentation and jewellery on the body of the figure. Once the components of the figure are assembled, kitta is applied by hand all over, and small pieces of cotton are stuck on it with the tamarind paste. Over this is applied the pebble paste which forms the base for the application of paint.