Daily Prelims Notes 9 June 2024
- June 9, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
9 June 2024
Sub: Environment
Sec: Species in news
Greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubius):
- Once found widely across southern Asia and mainland southeast Asia, the greater adjutant is now restricted to a much smaller range with only three breeding populations; two in India, with the largest colony in Assam and a smaller one around Bhagalpur; and another breeding population in Cambodia.
- Habitat in Assam: Brahmaputra valley, Assam, primarily in the districts of Guwahati, Morigaon, and Nagaon.
- Breeding and Feeding:
- Breeding season: October to February.
- Dependence on wetlands for foraging and tall trees for roosting and nesting.
- Diet: Principally carnivorous, feeding on fish, frogs, snakes, other reptiles, eels, birds, offal and carrion. It shares the habit of scavenging with vultures.
- These storks are not migratory and rely entirely on the threatened wetlands of Assam.
- Conservation Status: Listed as endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Historical Population: Guwahati once had the largest concentration of these storks in India.
Habitat Challenges:
- Rapid urbanization has led to the loss of wetlands, a critical habitat for these storks.
- Many are now confined to a garbage dumping site near the Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary, a Ramsar site.
- Habitat Destruction:
- Wetlands and roosting trees are being destroyed by encroachment, overfishing, and drainage projects.
- Many roosting trees are on private land and are being cut down.
- Human Interaction:
- Local communities often drive the birds away due to the strong odour of their droppings and the presence of rotting meat brought to feed their hatchlings.
Source: TH
2. What is the National Health Claim Exchange?
Sub: Schemes
Sec: Health
National Health Claim Exchange (NHCX) Initiative:
- Objective: To provide patients with swift access to quality healthcare and reduce out-of-pocket expenses.
- Collaboration: Joint effort by the Health Ministry and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
- Aligns with IRDAI’s objective, facilitating a centralized hub for health claims.
- Functionality
- Platform: Digital platform that integrates insurance companies, healthcare providers, and government insurance scheme administrators.
- Purpose: Facilitates the exchange of claims-related information, enhancing interoperability, efficiency, and transparency in health claims processing.
- Integration and Implementation
- Integration: Twelve insurance companies and one TPA (Third Party Administrator) have integrated with the NHCX.
- Goals: Streamlined interactions between hospitals and insurers, creation of a seamless, paperless, and secure contractual framework.
- Adoption: Over 30 insurance companies are on board, with ongoing efforts to include hospitals.
- Cashless Claims Processing:
- Timeline: All cashless claims must be processed within three hours of discharge authorization from hospitals.
- Deadline: Insurance providers must implement the required systems and processes by July 31.
Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS):
- National Health Authority announced financial incentives under the Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) from January 2023
- Financial incentives are offered to hospitals for digital health transactions.
- ₹500 per insurance claim transaction or 10% of the claim amount, whichever is lower.
Significance for NHCX:
- Healthcare Coverage: Address high out-of-pocket expenditures and provide better healthcare services.
- Data Exchange: Standardization and seamless exchange of data between payers and providers.
- Efficiency and Transparency: Enhanced claims processing, reduced operational costs, and standardization of healthcare pricing.
Challenges
- IT Upgrades and Training: Hospitals and insurance companies need to upgrade IT systems and train staff.
- Operational Issues: Addressing discharge delays and miscommunication.
- Trust Building: Ensuring efficient services to build trust among policyholders.
- Data Security: Mitigating risks of data breaches.
Source: TH
3. UN to add Israel, Hamas to the global list of offenders that harm children
Sub: IR
Sec: Int Org
U.N. Secretary-General’s Upcoming Report on Israel and Hamas:
- The secretary-general annually makes a global list of states and militias that are menacing children and threatening them.
- Parties on the list have ranged from the Kachin Independence Army in Myanmar to — last year — Russia during its war with Ukraine.
- Now Israel is set to join them.
Key Points
- Both Israel and Hamas are accused of violating children’s rights during their ongoing conflict.
- Security Council: The list is sent to the Security Council, where action can be debated, though past actions against listed parties, like Russia, have seen no council intervention due to geopolitical dynamics.
- Humanitarian Concerns: U.N. agencies warn of worsening hunger and starvation in Gaza due to the conflict and restrictions on humanitarian aid.
- An analysis found a decline in the proportion of women and children killed in Gaza, contrary to public statements by the Gaza Health Ministry. This shift aligns with changes in Israeli battlefield tactics.
Reactions:
- Israel’s Response:
- Outrage from Israeli officials, including U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who criticized the U.N. decision.
- Israel argues that the inclusion might embolden Hamas and prolong the conflict.
- Palestinian Response:
- Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour supported the inclusion as a step towards accountability for Israel’s actions against Palestinian children.
Source: TH
4. The big chocolate meltdown | Why 2024 cocoa prices are driving people nuts
Sub: Geography
Sec: Eco geo
Impact of Soaring Cocoa Prices on Indian Pâtisseries and Bakers
- Rising Cocoa Prices:
- Global cocoa prices have increased by 110% to 200%.
- Cacao bean prices reached a record $12,000 per tonne in April.
- A combination of El Niño, black pod disease, ageing cacao trees, and inequitable market practices in Ghana and Ivory Coast has contributed to the price hike.
- Predictions indicate cocoa futures could climb to $20,000 per tonne.
- Operational Challenges:
- Importers face increased cargo prices due to the West Asia crisis and a weakened rupee (down 10%-12%).
- Prices of imported chocolate brands like Valrhona, Callebaut, and Van Houten have surged by 50%, with potential increases up to 100% by October.
- Supply chain adjustments take 5-6 months to reflect price changes in India.
About Cocoa Bean:
- Also known as cacao, it is the dried, fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, the cacao tree.
- Native to the Amazon rainforest, first domesticated 5,300 years ago by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in South America, later introduced to Mesoamerica.
- Tree Lifecycle
- Growth: Takes five years to mature.
- Lifespan: Typically around 100 years.
- Varieties of Cocoa Plant
- Forastero: Most widely used.
- Criollo: Known for its superior flavour.
- Trinitario: A hybrid of Forastero and Criollo.
- Nutritional Components
- Phytochemicals: Contains flavanols, procyanidins, and flavonoids; may have a blood pressure-lowering effect.
- Other Compounds: Contains theobromine and small amounts of caffeine.
Historical and Cultural Significance:
- Mesoamerica: Used in spiritual ceremonies and as currency.
- Geographical Zone: Grows in limited areas; West Africa produces nearly 81% of the world’s cocoa.
Processing and Products:
- Chocolate Production:
- 1 kg of chocolate requires 300-600 cocoa beans.
- Beans are roasted, cracked, deshelled into nibs, and then ground into chocolate liquor.
- Chocolate liquor is mixed with cocoa butter, sugar, and sometimes vanilla and lecithin to make chocolate.
- Cocoa powder and butter are separated using a hydraulic press or Broma process.
- Dutch process cocoa is treated with alkali for a different flavour.
- Roasting affects flavour and can be done on whole beans or nibs.
Production and Trade
- Global Production (2020): 5.8 million tonnes.
- Leading Producers: Ivory Coast (Or Côte d’Ivoire) (38%), followed by Ghana and Indonesia.
- Futures Markets: London (West African cocoa) and New York (Southeast Asian cocoa).
- Sustainability Initiatives: Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO), the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO), and Belgium’s Beyond Chocolate.
- 29% of global production met voluntary sustainability standards in 2016.
- Deforestation: A major concern, especially in West Africa. Agroforestry practices support sustainable production.
- Economic Impact
- Significance: Critical to economies such as Nigeria’s.
- Demand: Growing at over 3% annually since 2008.
Cocoa in India:
- Production: In India Cocoa is being cultivated in the States of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
- Andhra Pradesh ranks first in area, production and productivity.
- The average productivity of cocoa in India is 669 Kg/ha.
- Export: Cocoa is an export-oriented commodity.
- India earns foreign exchange worth Rs. 1108cores through exports of cocoa beans and its products.
- India is the 59th largest exporter of Cocoa Beans in the world. India exports it to Malaysia, Indonesia and the U.K. among others.
- Import: India is the 17th largest importer of Cocoa Beans in the world.
- The current domestic production of cocoa beans is not sufficient to meet the demand of the industry. Hence India is importing a lion’s share of its requirement from other cocoa-growing countries worth Rs.2021crores.
- India imports it mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, and Uganda.
Source: TH
5. China’s far-side Moon mission begins journey back
Sub: Science and tech
Sec: Space sector
Context:
- China says its lunar probe has successfully taken off from the far side of the Moon to begin its journey back to Earth carrying the first samples ever collected from the region.
Key Highlights:
- State media says the collecting module of the Chang’e-6 craft lifted off on Tuesday to begin the journey back.
- The robot landed in a giant crater close to the Moon’s south pole in a world-first feat celebrated by the international science community.
- China became the first country to reach the far side of the Moon with the landing of its Chang’e-4.
- China is the only country to have landed on the far side of the moon, having also done so before in 2019.
- The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) described the mission’s landing and lift-off as an ”unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration”.
- China aims to be the first country to bring back rock and soil samples from the far side of the Moon, which scientists say could be very different from rock formations on the near side.
About Change mission:
- Chang’e 6 is a robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration.
- Like its predecessors in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang’e.
- The mission began on 3 May 2024 when the probe was launched from China’s Hainan Island.
- The mission’s lander landed on the far side of the Moon on 1 June 2024.
- Chang’e-6 had spent two days gathering rocks and soil – using a mechanical arm and drill to collect about 2kg (4.4lb) of material.
- It has been based in the South Pole-Aitken basin – a gigantic crater on the Moon’s far side which is one of the largest known in the Solar System.
- In 2020, its Chang’e-5 craft brought back 1.7kg of material from an area called Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon’s near side.
6. Epigraphs shine light on Kashmir’s rich cultural past
Sub: History
Sec: Art and Culture
Context:
- Epigraphs or inscriptions, including calligraphic works, from 40 heritage sites in Kashmir are on display at Srinagar’s Kashmir Arts Emporium.
Key highlights:
- Epigraphs from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, on display at a Srinagar exhibition, shine a light on Kashmir’s past.
- It will tell about the domination of the Persian language, local Hindus’ praise for Sultan Sikander, and community wells constructed by the Mughals.
- It maps architectural epigraphy from early modern Kashmir and puts a spotlight on inscriptions on khanqahs, mosques, temples, shrines and mausoleums.
What is Epigraphy?
- Epigraphy in architecture is an important and essential part of what is defined as material culture.
- Epigraphs have the potential to even correct the errors which have crept into our textual histories.
- Epigraphy is a primary tool of archaeology when dealing with literate cultures.
- The US Library of Congress classifies epigraphy as one of the auxiliary sciences of history.
Benefits of Epigraphs:
- These epigraphs cover over four centuries of religious and literary writings, commencing with the establishment of Sultanate rule in Kashmir in the 14th century.
- Deciphering some of the rarest texts written in Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit, the exhibition borrows from translations, photographs and recreated drawings offering a comprehensive mapping of our past.
- Epigraphs help in understanding the ‘mizaj’ or socio-religious milieu of the period.
- An epigraph from Khanmoh in Sanskrit mentions a ‘maath’ foundation during the reign of Zain-ul-Abidin.
- It refers to his father as the illustrious Sikander.
- Sikander is rather infamous as Butshikan (someone who destroyed Hindu statues).
- Inscription from the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar highlights the reconstruction overseen by a native Kashmiri engineer, historian and administrator, Malik Haider of Chadoora area.
- The inscription is from the period when the mosque was burnt during Emperor Jahangir’s time.
- The calligrapher was a Kashmiri master i.e. Mulla Murad, famous as Shirin Kalam (Sweet pen).
- However, the engraver was a Hindu, Hari Ram, whose name is also recorded.
Who is Sultan Sikander?
- Sikandar was the seventh Sultan of Kashmir and a member of Shah Mir dynasty who ruled from 1389 until his death in 1413.
- The only contemporaneous source that exists is the Rajatarangini by Jonaraja.
- Jonaraja was the Brahmin court-poet of Sikandar’s successor Zain-ul-Abidin and was commissioned to continue Kalhana’s Rajatarangini.