Daily Prelims Notes 9 July 2020

July 9, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

Some private labs in Delhi have started antibody testing for Covid-19, used to assess if a person has contracted the infection or not. The blood test is available in most top private labs and hospitals, and does not require a medical prescription.

Concept:

Antibody test is to determine sero-prevalence in a population.
This is not a diagnostic test, it mainly helps to check if a person has developed immunity (antibodies) to the disease.
It will also give an indication of the infection load and recovery rate in a community.
During the test, a blood sample is collected to determine if a person is infected with the novel coronavirus.
Antibody tests may not be useful as ‘immunity passports’ because there is lack of clarity on the long-term immune responses of the body to the virus SARS-CoV-2.
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) or Chemiluminescence Immunoassay (CLIA) test measure Covid-19-specific antibodies — Immunoglobulin G and Immunoglobulin M — which indicate that the person undergoing the test may have been infected but has since recovered.
If a person tests positive for IgM, it indicates he/she has an active infection. In such cases, they go for a diagnostic test.
If a person tests positive for IgG, it means they have developed immunity. If a good number of people test positive for the antibody test, it means the city is on the correct path

2. Rising Forex Reserves

Subject: Economy

Context:

India’s forex reserve has crossed $500-billion mark recently

Concept:

RBI was able to increase its reserves by $79 billion over the past year and by $29 billion since the beginning of this fiscal year.
While the dollar-rupee swap auctions conducted in March and April this year have helped increase reserves to some extent.
Other unplanned developments behind the increasing reserves are raising external commercial borrowings and an unexpected trade surplus.
With global central banks pumping in enormous amount of money into the global economy and moving interest rates lower, Indian companies have found it easier to raise funds overseas at cheaper cost.

Concerns:

Increased overseas borrowing has downsides — corporates can struggle to roll over the loans if the rupee continues depreciating or if the interest rate cycle overseas turns adverse.
The favourable trade balance is also not something to cheer about as it has been caused mainly by declining demand. Merchandise imports were sharply lower in April and May this year, in line with contraction in global trade.
Once domestic demand revives with the economy unlocking, demand for petroleum and other products are likely to revive, causing pressure on the trade balance once again

3. Agriculture Infrastructure fund

Subject: Economy

Context:

Cabinet has approved for setting up an agri-infra fund with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore

Concept:

The scheme shall provide a medium – long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support.
This new agri-infra fund has duration of 10 years till 2029.
Under the scheme, Rs. One Lakh Crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producers Organizations, Self Help Group, Farmers, Joint Liability Groups, Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Agri-entrepreneurs, Startups, Aggregation Infrastructure Providers and Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public Private Partnership Project
All loans under this financing facility will have interest subvention of 3% per annum up to a limit of Rs. 2 crore. This subvention will be available for a maximum period of seven years.
Further, credit guarantee coverage will be available for eligible borrowers from this financing facility under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for a loan up to Rs. 2 crore.
Agri Infra fund will be managed and monitored through an online Management Information System (MIS) platform. It will enable all the qualified entities to apply for loan under the fund.
The National, State and District level Monitoring Committees will be set up to ensure real-time monitoring and effective feed-back.

Benefits:

The Project by way of facilitating formal credit to farm and farm processing-based activities is expected to create numerous job opportunities in rural areas.

4. Anti-Defection

Subject: Polity

Context:

Supreme Court has issued notice to Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker on a plea against him for allegedly delaying a decision on the anti-defection proceedings against 11 AIADMK MLAs who voted against the government’s confidence motion in 2017.

Concept:

The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by 52nd amendment. It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
Disqualification:
If a member of a house belonging to a political party voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party, or Votes, or does not vote in the legislature, contrary to the directions of his political party. However, if the member has taken prior permission, or is condoned by the party within 15 days from such voting or abstention, the member shall not be disqualified.
If an independent candidate joins a political party after the election.
If a nominated member joins a party six months after he becomes a member of the legislature.

91^st amendment act of 2003

The total number of ministers including the Prime minister in the central council of ministers shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Loksabha/State legislative assembly. (Article 75,164). However in states number of ministers shall not be less than 12.
A member disqualified under defection is also disqualified for being a minister in house.
The member disqualified on the grounds of defection shall also be disqualified for any remunerative political post, office wholly or partially under the government .
The provision regarding one third was also deleted by this amendment.
Exceptions under the law: Legislators may change their party without the risk of disqualification in certain circumstances. The law allows a party to merge with or into another party provided that at least two-thirds of its legislators are in favour of the merger. In such a scenario, neither the members who decide to merge, nor the ones who stay with the original party will face disqualification.
The law initially stated that the decision of the Presiding Officer is not subject to judicial review. This condition was struck down by the Supreme Court in KihotoHollohan case in 1992, thereby allowing appeals against the Presiding Officer’s decision in the High Court and Supreme Court.

5. Bharat Stage Emission norms

Subject: Environment

Context:

The Supreme Court recalled its March 27 order which allowed automobile dealers 10 days time, immediately after lockdown is lifted, to sell 10 per cent of their stock of BS-IV emission norm-compliant vehicles.

Concept:

The Bharat Stage emission standards are standards instituted by the government to regulate the output of air pollutants from motor vehicles from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles.
India has been following European (Euro) emission norms, although with a time lag of five years.

The BS IV norms had been enforced across the country since April 2017.
In 2016, the Centre had announced that the country would skip the BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020.
Implementation of the intermediate BS-V standard was originally scheduled for 2019.
The main difference in standards between the existing BS-IV and the new BS-VI auto fuel norms is the presence of sulphur.
The BS-VI fuel is estimated to bring around an 80 per cent reduction of sulphur, from 50 parts per million to 10 ppm. According to analysts, the emission of NOx (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars is also expected to come down by nearly 70 per cent and 25 per cent from cars with petrol engines.

6. State Development Loans and Ways & Means Advance

Subject: Economy

Context:

According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Tamil Nadu government has so far raised ₹30,500 crore in fiscal 2020-21 and has topped market borrowings among all the States. Tamil Nadu accounted for 17% of the borrowings done through state development loans

Concept:

The State has issued more long-tenure bonds when compared to other States, and has not tapped short-terms funding avenues like Ways and Means Advances.

State development loans

State Development Loans (SDLs) are dated securities issued by states for meeting their market borrowings requirements.
In effect, the SDL are similar to the dated securities issued by the central government.
Purpose of issuing State Development Loans is to meet the budgetary needs of state governments. Each state can borrow upto a set limit through State Development Loans.
The SDL securities issued by states are credible collateral for meeting the SLR requirements of banks as well as collateral for availing liquidity under the RBI’s LAF including the repo.

Ways & means advance

The WMA facility enables the government to take a temporary short term loan from the central bank, mainly to address the mismatch between its inflow of revenues and outflow of expenditure.
Under Section 17(5) of RBI Act, 1934, the RBI provides Ways and Means Advances (WMA) to the States banking with it to help them to tide over temporary mismatches in the cash flow of their receipts and payments. Such advances are repayable in each case not later than three months from the date of making that advance.
There are two types of WMA – normal and special.
While normal WMA are clean advances, special WMA are secured advances provided against the pledge of Government of India dated securities

7. Quorum

Subject: Polity

Context:

Rajya Sabha secretariat has clarified that quorum was essential only when the committees are taking decisions or adopting reports and not during routine deliberations.

Concept:

Quorum is the minimum number of member required to be present in the House before it can transact any business. It is One tenth of total members in each House including the presiding officer