Daily Prelims Notes 9 March 2023

March 9, 2023
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

9 March 2023

Table Of Contents

1. Money laundering laws will now cover cryptocurrency trade

Subject :Economy

Section: Msc

Concept :

In a gazette notification, the Finance Ministry said the anti-money laundering legislation has been applied to crypto trading, safekeeping and related financial services.
The government has imposed the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 on cryptocurrencies or virtual assets as it looks to tighten oversight of digital assets.

Implications

After this, Indian crypto exchanges will have to report suspicious activity to the Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND).
The move is in line with the global trend of requiring digital-asset platforms to follow anti-money laundering standards similar to those followed by other regulated entities like banks or stock brokers.
This means that any financial wrongdoing involving cryptocurrency assets can now be investigated by the Enforcement Directorate.

Virtual Assets

Virtual assets are digital representations of value that can be traded or transferred electronically.
They can include cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin, as well as other digital tokens or coins that are created and exchanged using blockchain technology.
Under the Income Tax Act, virtual assets are treated as capital assets for tax purposes. This means that any gains or losses from their sale or exchange may be subject to capital gains tax, depending on the holding period and other relevant factors.

Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND)

It was set by the Government of India on 18th November 2004 as the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.
FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing the global efforts against money laundering and financing of terrorism.
FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC)headed by the Finance Minister.
FIU-IND is a multi disciplinary body with a sanctioned strength of 75 personnel–from different organizations namely Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Department of Legal Affairs and Intelligence agencies.

For Notes on Money Laundering and PMLA, Refer – https://optimizeias.com/money-laundering/

2. Tribal women too are entitled to equal share in property, rules Madras HC

Subject: Polity

Section: Msc

Concept :

The Madras High Court has ruled that tribal women are entitled to equal share in the family property as per the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
The judge insisted the Tamil Nadu government to initiate necessary steps for the purpose of issuing appropriate notification through Central government under Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act 1956, to protect the equal property right of tribal women in the state.

Section 2 (2)of the Hindu Succession Act

According to Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, the statute which guarantees equal shares for male and female heirs is not applicable to members of Scheduled Tribe communities.
Central Government has to issue a separate notification to extend the property rights to ST Women.

Hindu Succession Act 1956

The Hindu Succession Act of 1956 was passed by the Indian Parliament to alter and codify the law of intestate or unwilled succession among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs.
In one Act, the Act establishes a unified and complete system of inheritance and succession.
The Act abolishes the Hindu woman’s limited estate. Any property possessed by a Hindu female is to be held by her absolute property and she is given full power to deal with it and dispose it of by will as she likes.
Parts of this Act was amended in 2005 by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005.

Key features of the Hindu Succession Act-

The Act lays down a uniform and comprehensive system of inheritance and succession into one Act.
It was enacted to amend and codify the law relating to intestate or unwilled succession among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.
The Hindu woman’s limited estate is abolished by the Act.
Section 6 of the Act was amended to make a daughter of a coparcener also a coparcener by birth “in her own right in the same manner as the son”.
It also gave the daughter the same rights and liabilities “in the coparcenary property as she would have had if she had been a son”.
It abolished the female’s “limited owner” status.
This Act is applicable to the following:
any person who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments including a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj;
any person who is Buddhist, Jains, Sikh by religion;
to any other person who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion unless it is proved that the concerned person would not have been governed by the Hindu Law;

Exceptions:

Any person who commits murder is disqualified from receiving any form of inheritance from the victim.
If a relative converts from Hinduism, he or she is still eligible for inheritance.
However, the descendants of that converted relative are disqualified from receiving inheritance from their Hindu relatives, unless they have converted to Hinduism before the death of the relative.

What were the property rights of a daughter before 2005?

The Mitakshara School of Hindu law became the basis and subset of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
As per the act, an individual who is born in a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) becomes a coparcener by birth.
The law applied also to Buddhist, Sikhs, Jain, and followers of Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj are also considered Hindus but not to who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion. This provision is also valid for further amendments.
A coparcener is not the same as a member of HUF. All coparceners are considered members but all members may not be considered as coparceners. A wife or husband of the coparcener is not a coparcener in that family though being a member. The benefit of being a coparcener is that only coparceners can ask for the partition of the property.
The daughter, after marriage, would cease to be a HUF member of her father and will not be entitled to the right of maintenance and a share in the property of the HUF, if the property were partitioned after her marriage.
The female members were not entitled to become a Karta of the HUF as only a coparcener was entitled to become the Karta of the HUF.
Note :According to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, an individual who is born in a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) has a legal right over his ancestral property. Therefore, he is a coparcener (joint-heir) by birth.

3. NASA hands over Nisar satellite to ISRO

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Concept:

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has received the NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) satellite.

NISAR Satellite

NISAR has been built by space agencies of the US and India under a partnership agreement signed in 2014.
The 2,800 kilograms satellite consists of both L-band and S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments, which makes it a dual-frequency imaging radar satellite.
While NASA has provided the L-band radar, GPS, a high-capacity solid-state recorder to store data, and a payload data subsystem, ISRO has provided the S-band radar, the GSLV launch system and spacecraft.
Another important component of the satellite is its large 39-foot stationary antenna reflector.
Made of a gold-plated wire mesh, the reflector will be used to focus the radar signals emitted and received by the upward-facing feed on the instrument structure.

Objectives of NISAR

Once launched into space, NISAR will observe subtle changes in Earth’s surfaces, helping researchers better understand the causes and consequences of such phenomena.
It will spot warning signs of natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides.
The satellite will also measure groundwater levels, track flow rates of glaciers and ice sheets, and monitor the planet’s forest and agricultural regions, which can improve our understanding of carbon exchange.
By using synthetic aperture radar (SAR), NISAR will produce high-resolution images.
SAR is capable of penetrating clouds and can collect data day and night regardless of the weather conditions.

4. Vision screening critical to National Road Safety Plan

Subject :Schemes

Concept :

With the Supreme Court-appointed Committee on Road Safety observing that there are 1.5 lakh annual deaths due to road crashes, leading eye health organisations are now calling for the inclusion of vision check-ups for drivers in the National Road Safety Plan (NRSP).
While the package of preventive measures in the plan include wearing seat belts, reducing speed, road and intersection design, and not overloading, there is an urgent need to include vision correction activities for drivers of commercial vehicles in the plan, say leading non-profits in the eye healthcare space.

Background

India’s nearly 1.5 lakh road deaths annually account for 11 per cent of the total global deaths caused by road accidents.
Numerous vision initiatives with commercial driving communities reveal substantial levels of uncorrected blurry vision — both distance vision required to judge oncoming traffic and avoid hazards on the road as well as near vision to see navigation apps — among truck, bus, automobile drivers.

National Road Safety Policy/Plan

The Government formulated the National Road Safety Policy (NRSP) in 2010 based on the recommendations of S Sundar Committee.
The Government is committed to to raise awareness about safety issues and extend assistance to the State Governments and local administrations in ensuring road safety.
Under the policy, the Government reviewed standards that govern road design and the maintenance of vehicles.

Other Government Initiatives

District Road Safety Committees :
District Road Safety Committees (DRSC) have been established in each district under the Section 215 of the Motor Vehicle Act of 1988.
The DRSCs are tasked with conducting an ongoing analysis of the district’s traffic collisions and gathering information on incidents, their causes, accident sites, and victim information.
They are also in-charge of creating a district road safety plan, an emergency medical plan, and making sure that ambulances were accessible and connected to hospitals.
Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act,2019 :
The Government amended the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, in 2019 and enhanced the road safety measures: (a) Creating a National Road Safety Board to advise the government on road and traffic management (Notified in September 2021); (b) Higher fines for traffic crimes; (c) Recalling defective vehicles, dangerous for the environment and people; (d) Creating a Solatium Fund for victims of hit-and-run accidents; (e) Punishment to the owner for violations committed by Juvenile; (f) Regulated corruption by Automated testing for driver’s licence and fitness certificate (FC).

Good Samaritan Law:

The Act also protects Good Samaritans from civil and criminal liability.
In October 2021, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) issued Guidelines for the Scheme for grant of Award to the Good Samaritans who save the life of a victim from a fatal accident involving a motor vehicle.
A Good Samaritan is a person who voluntarily comes forward to administer emergency care to a person injured in an accident, or crash, or emergency situation.
In 2016, the Supreme Court of India gave “force of law” to the guidelines for the protection of Good Samaritans issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Good Samaritan Law protects Good Samaritans from harassment e.g., Police should not involve the Good Samaritans for investigation or the Hospitals should not refuse to treat the accident victims and should not charge for First Aid.

5. Parrot lady of Khajuraho

Subject : Art and Culture

Section : Architecture

Concept :

About 26 repatriated Indian antiquities will be exhibited and displayed in the national capital in order to spread awareness on the prevention of illicit trafficking of antiquities.
Among the antiquities displayed, the “Parrot Lady of Khajuraho” sculpture was a major attraction.

Parrot Lady of Khajuraho sculpture

The “Parrot Lady of Khajuraho” is a 900-year-old sandstone sculpture.
This is a three-foot-long sculpture that is exquisitely carved and depicts a lady with a parrot near her right ear which symbolises love.
A few historians believe that the “Parrot Lady” may have been the queen of Khajuraho portrayed as the majestic ‘Abhisarika’ or cupid-struck lady, always engaged in conversation with her pet parrot.
The sculpture was smuggled from Delhi to Canada (Toronto) and was brought back to India from Canada in 2015 in accordance with the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is the nodal agency for dealing with antiquities and about 244 stolen or missing artefacts have been repatriated to India to date.

6. Floating Solar Panels

Subject : Economy

Section: Infrastructure

Concept :

In nearly a dozen countries around the world, floating solar farms are providing a welcome alternative to ground-mounted modules, with the potential to significantly boost clean power as the world races to cut carbon emissions.
Massive solar farms can now be found atop bodies of water in China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Portugal, Singapore and Switzerland.

Floatovoltaics:

Floating solar or floating photovoltaics (FPV), sometimes called floatovoltaics, panels mounted on a structure that float on a body of water, typically a reseris solar voir or a lake.
Like land-based systems, floating solar panels generate electricity from the sun’s rays.
But the bodies of water that these farms rest on also help to cool the panels, allowing them to be 15% more efficient than terrestrial solar, per an estimate from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
The first floating photovoltaic system was built in Japan in 2007. Currently, the world’s largest floating solar farm is in Shandong, China.

Structure of the Floating Solar Plants

It has a network of floating solar panels, or photovoltaics / floatovoltaics, that are mounted on a structure, to float it on the surface of a water body.
It often has a floating system or pontoon, a mooring structure to prevent panels from moving freely in water and to keep it near the shore,
The photovoltaic system generates electricity using thermal energy, and an underwater cable to transfer the generated power to a substation.
The floaters, on which solar modules are placed, are manufactured with high-density polyethylene (HDP) material.

Floating solar plants- significance:

Floating solar plants are considered an alternate option to tackle land availability issues. The concept involves setting up solar panels on floats placed on dams, lakes and similar water bodies.
Floating solar makes intuitive sense in geographies with high land costs and poor availability.
As water constraints increase around the world, floating solar might also help preserve supply.
The panels can limit evaporation from the reservoirs and lakes on which they sit. Early indications suggest that the structures might decrease the chances that harmful algae blooms will develop on bodies of water.

Challenges:

Cost: Despite being land neutral, the cost of the floating systems including anchoring, installation, maintenance and transmission renders the overall cost of the floating solar systems are much higher than the land based systems at this initial stage of development.
Technical issues: Besides the two major issues of corrosion and instability, other issues like the long term impact of moist environment on modules, cables, safe transmission of power through the floats to the nearest feeder point, the environmental impact on the water body and the marine life etc needs to be addressed and – make the system cost effective.

7. India will be the biggest carbon market by 2030

Subject : Environment

Section: Climate Change

Concept :

By 2030, India will be the biggest carbon market in the world, Abhay Bakre, Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, has said.
Indian companies have been generating and selling carbon credits, their buyers have always been abroad.
India is working towards building a fully domestic carbon market, where both buyers and sellers are Indian entities.

Background

In December 2022, Parliament passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The Bill amended the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, to empower the government to establish carbon markets in India and specify a carbon credit trading scheme.
Government announced a list of 13 activities that will be considered for the trading of carbon creditsunder Article 6.2 mechanism to facilitate transfer of emerging technologies and mobilise international finance in India.

Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022

The Bill empowers the Centre to specify a carbon credits trading scheme.
Under the Bill, the central government or an authorised agency will issue carbon credit certificates to companies or even individuals registered and compliant with the scheme.
These carbon credit certificates will be tradeable in nature. Other persons would be able to buy carbon credit certificates on a voluntary basis.

About Carbon Markets

Carbon markets are a tool for putting a price on carbon emissions. It allows the trade of carbon credits with the overall objective of bringing down emissions.
These markets create incentives to reduce emissions or improve energy efficiency.
For example, an industrial unit which outperforms the emission standards stands to gain credits.
Another unit which is struggling to attain the prescribed standards can buy these credits and show compliance to these standards. The unit that did better on the standards earns money by selling credits, while the buying unit is able to fulfill its operating obligations.
It establishes trading systems where carbon credits or allowances can be bought and sold.
carbon credit :A carbon credit is a kind of tradable permit that, per United Nations standards, equals one tonne of carbon dioxide removed, reduced, or sequestered from the atmosphere.
The owners of the credits sell them to those obligated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions but are unable to do so by their own efforts.
Carbon allowances or caps : Carbon allowances or caps, meanwhile, are determined by countries or governments according to their emission reduction targets.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides for the use of international carbon markets by countries to fulfill their NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions).
NDCs are climate commitments by countries setting targets to achieve net-zero emissions.
Article 6.2 provides an accounting framework for international cooperation, such as linking the emissions-trading schemes of two or more countries.
Article 6.4 establishes a central UN mechanism to trade credits from emissions reductions generated through specific projects. For example, country A could pay for country B to build a wind farm instead of a coal plant. Emissions are reduced, country B benefits from the clean energy and country A gets credit for the reductions.
Article 6.8 establishes a work program for non-market approaches, such as applying taxes to discourage emissions.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency

Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a statutory body set up under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency assists the government in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles with the primary objective of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
It functions under Ministry of Power.

8. All India Women’s Conference (AIWC)

Subject :History

Section: Modern History

Concept:

All India Women’s Conference (AIWC), the oldest national women’s organization in India was founded in 1927 by Margaret Cousins in order to improve educational efforts for women and children and has expanded its scope to also tackle other women’s rights issues.

Genesis:

Early in 1926, at a prize-giving ceremony in Bethune College, Calcutta, the Director of Public Instruction, Bengal, Mr E F Oaten, had addressed women “who alone can help adequately to remedy what is wrong in women’s education,” and called upon them to “tell us with one voice what they want and keep on telling us till they get it”. This call prompted Mrs. A.L.Huidekoper, a lady from Ireland who had been teaching in Bethune College, to write a couple of articles in Stri Dharma, a monthly magazine published by Women’s Indian Association of Chennai. These articles caught the attention of another Irish lady, Mrs Margaret Cousins who decided to do something concrete to achieve the objective of improving women’s education in the country

The first step

The first conference called the “All India Women’s Conference on Educational Reform” was held at Fergooson College, Poona from 5 to 8 January, 1927 under the Presidentship of Maharani Chimnabai Saheb Gaekwar of Baroda. The Resolutions passed at the Conference related almost without exception to education, ranging from matters concerning Primary Schools up to those relating to College and Adult Education. The sole and notable exception was the resolution supporting Sir Hari Singh Gaur’s Age of Consent Bill. While considering the educational requirements, it was found that social reform was inevitably bound up with it. It was felt that early marriage was among the main impediments in the path of education of girls.

The Second Conference was in Delhi in 1928. Her Highness the Begum Mother of Bhopal was the President. Lady Irwin, Vicereine of India, opened the proceedings. The Conference, attended by about 200 delegates from 30 different constituencies all over India, resolved on compulsory primary education for girls. This conference marked the origin of the All India Women’s Education Fund, “to serve not only for propaganda but also for starting of institutions based on the ideals of the Conference”. The issue of differential treatment of Depressed Class children was also taken up. SmtKamaladevi Chattopadhyay, one of the articulate leaders of the conference, declared, “Education is the birthright of every child that comes into this world and it claims that right from society.”

Noteworthy Campaign

In addition to reaffirming the Resolutions of the first conference, resolutions were passed in support of Rai Saheb Haribilas Sarda’s Bill for Restraint of Early Marriages. A detailed plan for campaign was worked out to this end, which included propaganda meetings and lectures, literature and posters, petitions, postcard campaign (to be sent to representatives in the Assembly) etc. One of the most important features of the Conference was the Women’s Delegation that waited on the Viceroy and the leaders of the different political parties in the Central Legislatures, to secure the support of each in abolishing child marriage.

9. INSPIRE

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Government Policy

Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Scheme:

To attract talent to the excitement and study of science at an early age
To help the country build the required critical resource pool for strengthening and expanding the S&T system and R&D base with a long-term foresight
It was launched on 13th December 2008

INSPIRE has three components:

Scheme for Early Attraction of Talent (SEATS):
- It aims to attract talented youth to study science by providing INSPIRE Award of Rs 5000 to one million young learners of the age group 10-15 years, ranging from Class VI to Class X standards
- It arranging summer camps for about 50,000 science students of Class XI with global leaders in science to experience the joy of innovations on an annual basis through INSPIRE Internship
Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE):
- It aims to enhance rates of attachment of talented youth to undertake higher education in science intensive programmes, by providing scholarships and mentorship.
- The scheme offers 10,000 Scholarship every year at Rs 0.80 lakh per year for the talented youth in the age group 17-22 years, for undertaking Bachelor and Masters level education in natural sciences.
- The main feature of the scheme is the mentorship support provided to every scholar.
Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC)
- It aims to attract, attach, retain and nourish talented young scientific Human Resource for strengthening the R&D foundation and base. It has two sub-components.
- In the first component i.e. INSPIRE Fellowship (age group of 22-27 years), it offers 1000 fellowships every year, for carrying out doctoral degree in both basic and applied sciences including engineering and medicine
- In the second component i.e. INSPIRE Faculty Scheme, it offers assured opportunity every year for 1000 post- doctoral researchers in the age group of 27-32 years, through contractual and tenure track positions for 5 years in both basic and applied sciences area.

10. Small debris orbiting Earth pose threats to space assets

Subject : Science and Technology

Section: Space technology

Context: On March 7, 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully carried out a controlled re-entry for the decommissionedMeghaTropiques1(MT1). The satellite, launched more than a decade ago, was designed to study clouds in the tropical regions of the world. It was expected to make final impact in the Pacific Ocean. ISRO said the satellite was brought down as a part of its commitment to reduce space debris, especially in the much crowded Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Space debris

Space junk is any piece of machinery or debris left by humans in space—principally in Earth orbit.
These include dead satellites, fragments of rocket bodies and spacecraft etc.
Currently, an estimated 20,000 objects—including satellites and space debris—are crowding low-Earth orbit.

What causes space junk?

Unoperational / Expired / Exploded satellites, rocket parts or spacecrafts
Anti-satellite tests that incapacitates or destroys satellites for strategic or tactical purposes (like Mission Shakti conducted by DRDO, China’s 2007 ASAT test,etc.)
Rare collision between two spacecrafts
Mega-constellations of satellites planned by companies such as SpaceX ‘s Starlinkprpject

Kessler syndrome

This is an idea proposed by NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978.
The Kessler syndrome is a scenario in which the density of objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade that increases the likelihood of further collisions.

ISRO’s Efforts

‘Project NETRA’ – It is an early warning system in space to detect debris and other hazards to Indian satellites.
Only the US, Russia and Europe have similar facilities in place to track space objects and share collision warnings.