Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SEZs, Baba Kalyani Committee
Mains level: Read the attached story
The government is considering a proposal to allow producers in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to sell their output to the domestic market without treating them as imports.
What are SEZs?
- A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country.
- SEZs are located within a country’s national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increased investment, job creation, and effective administration.
- To encourage businesses to set up in the zone, financial policies are introduced.
- These policies typically encompass investing, taxation, trading, quotas, customs, and labor regulations.
- Additionally, companies may be offered tax holidays, where upon establishing themselves in a zone, they are granted a period of lower taxation.
SEZs in India
- The SEZ policy in India first came into inception on April 1, 2000.
- The prime objective was to enhance foreign investment and provide an internationally competitive and hassle-free environment for exports.
- The idea was to promote exports from the country and realizing the need for a level playing field must be made available to the domestic enterprises and manufacturers to be competitive globally.
- Subsequently, the SEZ Act 2005, was enacted to provide the umbrella legal framework, covering all important legal and regulatory aspects of SEZ development as well as for units operating in SEZs.
Who can set up SEZs? Can foreign companies set up SEZs?
- Any private/public/joint sector or state government or its agencies can set up an SEZ.
- Yes, a foreign agency can set up SEZs in India.
What is the role of state governments in establishing SEZs?
- State governments will have a very important role to play in the establishment of SEZs.
- A representative of the state government, who is a member of the inter-ministerial committee on private SEZ, is consulted while considering the proposal.
- Before recommending any proposals to the ministry of commerce and industry (department of commerce), the states must satisfy themselves that they are in a position to supply basic inputs like water, electricity, etc.
Are SEZs controlled by the government?
- In all SEZs, the statutory functions are controlled by the government.
- The government also controls the operation and maintenance function in the central government-controlled SEZs. The rest of the operations and maintenance are privatized.
Are SEZs exempt from labor laws?
- Normal labor laws are applicable to SEZs, which are enforced by the respective state governments.
- The state governments have been requested to simplify the procedures/returns and for the introduction of a single-window clearance mechanism by delegating appropriate powers to development commissioners of SEZs.
Who monitors the functioning of the units in SEZ?
- The performance of the SEZ units is monitored by a unit approval committee consisting of a development commissioner, custom, and representative of the state government on an annual basis.
What are the special features for business units that come to the zone?
- Business units that set up establishments in an SEZ would be entitled to a package of incentives and a simplified operating environment.
- Besides, no license is required for imports, including second-hand machinery.
How do SEZs help a country’s economy?
- SEZs play a key role in the rapid economic development of a country.
- In the early 1990s, it helped China and there were hopes that the establishment in India of similar export-processing zones could offer similar benefits – provided, however, that the zones offered attractive enough concessions.
- Traditionally the biggest deterrents to foreign investment in India have been high tariffs and taxes, red-tapism, and strict labor laws.
- To date, these restrictions have ensured that India has been unable to compete with China’s massively successful light-industrial export machine.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cryptocurrencies and Legal Tender Currency
Mains level: Issues with Cryptocurrencies
Former RBI Deputy Governor R. Gandhi made a case for treating and regulating crypto as a separate asset class with a view to enabling governments around the world to effectively deal with illegal activities associated with virtual currencies.
Why in news?
- After quite a lot of debate over the years, people have fully understood that crypto cannot be a currency because the fundamental element of a currency that it should be a legal tender is missing in this case.
- The general consensus among many policymakers is that it should be deemed as an asset, not as a currency, not as a payment instrument, and not as a financial instrument as there is no clear identified issuer.
What are Cryptocurrencies?
- A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database.
- It uses strong cryptography to secure transaction records, control the creation of additional coins, and verify the transfer of coin ownership.
- It typically does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority.
- Cryptocurrencies typically use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.
How does it work?
- Cryptocurrencies work using a technology called the blockchain.
- Blockchain is a decentralized technology spread across many computers that manage and record transactions.
What is Blockchain Technology?
- Simply, blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and public digital ledger.
- Blockchains are a new type of network infrastructure (a way to organize how information and value move around on the internet) that creates ‘trust’ in networks by introducing distributed verifiability, auditability, and consensus.
- Blockchains create trust by acting as a shared database, distributed across vast peer-to-peer networks that have no single point of failure and no single source of truth.
- No individual entity can own a blockchain network, and no single entity can modify the data stored on it unilaterally without the consensus of its peers.
Also read
Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021
Back2Basics: Legal Tender Money
- A legal tender is a coin or a banknote that is legally tenderable for discharge of debt or obligation.
- Coin of any denomination not lower than one rupee shall be legal tender for any sum not exceeding one thousand rupees.
- Fifty paise (a half rupee) coins shall be legal tender for any sum not exceeding ten rupees.
- While anyone cannot be forced to accept coins beyond the limits mentioned above, voluntarily accepting coins for amounts exceeding the limits mentioned above is not prohibited.
- Every banknote issued by the Reserve Bank of India unless withdrawn from circulation shall be legal tender at any place in India.
- ₹1 notes issued by the Government of India are also Legal Tender.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pollen Calender
Mains level: NA
Chandigarh now has its first pollen calendar, which can identify potential allergy triggers and provide a clear understanding for clinicians as well as allergy sufferers about their causes to help limit their exposure during high pollen loads.
What is a Pollen Calendar?
- Pollen calendars represent the time dynamics of airborne pollen present in a particular geographical area.
- They yield readily accessible visual details about various airborne pollen present throughout the year in a single picture.
Is this a new concept in India? Where else in the west has this calendar been used?
- Though the concept is not essentially new, this is one of the major environmental concerns that had not been addressed for the Indian cities.
- Such calendars are location-specific, as pollen concentrations are closely related to locally distributed flora.
- Europe, UK and the US are using regional pollen calendars in a big way to prevent and diagnose allergic rhinitis/hay fever and predict the timing and severity of the pollen season.
Why is it important to study pollen?
- Pollen grains are male biological structures with the primary role of fertilization, but when inhaled by humans, they may strain the respiratory system and cause allergies.
- Pollen found suspended in air can cause widespread upper respiratory tract and naso-bronchial allergy with manifestations like asthma, seasonal rhinitis, and bronchial irritation.
- About 20-30 percent of the population suffers from allergic rhinitis/hay fever in India, and approximately 15 percent develop asthma.
- Pollen is considered a major outdoor airborne allergen responsible for allergic rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis in humans.
What were the key findings?
- The study highlights the variability of crucial pollen types in different seasons.
- Spring and autumn are two seasons when airborne pollen dominate.
- The findings will enhance the understanding of pollen seasons, which will in turn help minimize pollen allergies.
How will a pollen calendar benefit people, especially those who have respiratory issues?
- A pollen calendar provides a clear understanding for clinicians, as well as people with allergies to identify the potential allergy triggers and help to limit their exposure during high pollen load season.
- The early advisories can be prepared and disseminated through media channels to the citizens so that they can use protective gear during the period when the concentration of allergic pollen will be high.
Does the study infer that gardens and parks in the city contribute to the pollen and thus there must be proper scientific tree plantation?
- It is important to involve experts while designing parks.
- We should try to plant trees/shrubs that release no or little pollen.
- Trees such as palms, nettle, safeda, white mulberry (shahtoot), congress grass, pine, have a high incidence of pollen.
What kind of trees must be grown alongside our roads or in parks?
- Plant monoecious plants (male and female flowers on the same plant).
- Hibiscus, lilies, and holly that are grown widely in Chandigarh are examples of such plants.
- Cucumbers and squashes are also monoecious. Select plants with low to moderate pollen production.
- Non-allergic or entomophilous plant species should be chosen to provide an allergen-free atmosphere.
- Examples of such plants include rose, jasmine, salvia, Bougainvillea, Raat Rani, and sunflower.
With inputs from:
Indian Express
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gulf of Mexico
Mains level: NA
An oil spill spanning at least 10 miles has been captured by satellite imagery in waters off the Louisiana coast near the Gulf of Mexico.
Gulf of Mexico
- The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent.
- It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southwest and south by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo; and on the southeast by Cuba.
- The US states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, which border the Gulf on the north, are often referred to as the “Third Coast” of the United States (in addition to its Atlantic and Pacific coasts).
- It is covered with a tangle of pipes, wells and other energy infrastructure, much of it no longer used, as a result of generations of oil extraction there.
Its formation
- The Gulf of Mexico took shape approximately 300 million years ago as a result of plate tectonics.
- Its floor consists of sedimentary rocks and recent sediments.
- It is connected to the part of the Atlantic Ocean through the Florida Straits between the US and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea via the Yucatán Channel between Mexico and Cuba.
- Because of its narrow connection to the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf experiences very small tidal ranges.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Inspiration4 Mission
Mains level: Human spaceflights
SpaceX has announced its ‘Inspiration4’ mission, the first all-civilian, non-governmental spaceflight, for launch.
What is Inspiration4?
- Inspiraton4 is a part of an effort to raise funds for pediatric treatment and research facility that focuses on children’s catastrophic diseases, particularly leukemia and other cancers.
- The mission involves circling the Earth for three days and then splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean.
- Inspiration4 will orbit the Earth at 575km, higher than the International Space Station (408km) and the Hubble space telescope (547km).
- This will be the farthest distance travelled by a crewed mission since 2009, when astronauts last went to repair the Hubble.
- The Dragon module that the group will be using has also been modified for the mission.
- Usually, the SpaceX module is used for travelling to the ISS, where it has to dock or join the floating laboratory.
UPSC may ask an MCQ asking: Which of the following is/are the space missions related to human flights? It may throw up 4-5 options (which we all get confused at after few months) like Cassini , InSight , Messanger, Voyager etc.
Key feature: Dome window
- Since Inspiration4 is not going to the ISS, the docking port has been removed and has been replaced with a dome window instead.
- This dome window will offer breath-taking views of the Earth for the four travellers.
- The window has been inspired by the Cupola, a module on the ISS used to make observations about our planet.
Why is the mission significant?
- According to a report in the Independent, the journey will present an opportunity for collecting large amounts of health data that will aid in planning future crewed space missions.
- As per the report, they will collect data on ECG (electrocardiograph) activity, movement, sleep, heart rate, and rhythm, blood oxygen saturation, cabin noise and light intensity, which will help in assessing behavioral and cognitive changes over the journey.
- The travelers will undergo balance and prescription tests just before and after their journey to assess their response to the change in gravity.
- The immune system function will also be monitored by collecting blood. Their organ systems will also be monitored by an AI-powered ultrasound device.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indigenous bovine species
Mains level: Not Much
The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) has recognized the Manda buffalo, found in the Eastern Ghats and plateau of Koraput region of Odisha, as the 19th unique breed of buffaloes found in India.
Manda Buffalo
- The Manda are resistant to parasitic infections, less prone to diseases and can live, produce and reproduce at low or nil input systems.
- These buffaloes have ash grey and grey coat with copper-coloured hair.
- The lower part of the legs up to the elbow is light in colour with copper colour hair at the knee. Some animals are silver-white in colour.
- Four breeds of cattle — Binjharpuri, Motu, Ghumusari and Khariar — and two breeds of buffalo — Chilika and Kalahandi — and one breed of sheep, Kendrapada, have already received NBAGR recognition.
Their economic significance
- The small, sturdy buffaloes are used for ploughing in their native habitat of the Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts.
- There are around 1,00,000 buffaloes of this breed in the native tract mostly contributing to the family nutrition of households and assisting in all the agricultural operations in the undulated hilly terrain for generations.
- The average milk yield of these buffaloes is 2 to 2.5 litres in single milking with more than 8% fat. However, a few of those yield up to 4 litres.
- After going through the findings, the NBAGR made an assessment and recognised it as an indigenous and unique buffalo.
Now pls do not ignore this PYQ:
Q.What is/are unique about ‘Kharai Camel’, a breed found in India?
- It is capable of swimming up to three kilometres in seawater.
- It survives by grazing on mangroves.
- It lives in the wild and cannot be domesticated.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Account Aggregators
Mains level: Read the attached story
Eight of India’s major banks — State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and Federal Bank has joined the Account Aggregator (AA) network that will enable customers to easily access and share their financial data.
What is an Account Aggregators (AA)?
- According to the RBI, an AA is a non-banking financial company engaged in the business of providing, under a contract, the service of retrieving or collecting financial information pertaining to its customer.
- It is also engaged in consolidating, organizing, and presenting such information to the customer or any other financial information user as may be specified by the bank.
- The AA framework was created through an inter-regulatory decision by RBI and other regulators.
- These regulators include SEBI, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) through an initiative of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC).
- The license for AAs is issued by the RBI, and the financial sector will have many AAs.
- The framework allows customers to avail themselves of various financial services from a host of providers on a single portal based on a consent method, under which the consumers can choose what financial data to share and with which entity.
What does an AA do?
- Reduce bank traffic: It reduces the need for individuals to wait in long bank queues, use Internet banking portals, share their passwords, or seek out physical notarization to access and share their financial documents.
- Data security: An AA is a financial utility for the secure flow of data controlled by the individual.
- Data flow: AA is an exciting addition to India’s digital infrastructure as it will allow banks to access consented data flows and verified data.
- Reduced cost: This will help banks reduce transaction costs, which will enable us to offer lower ticket size loans and more tailored products and services to our customers.
- Transaction security: It will also help us reduce fraud and comply with upcoming privacy laws.
How does it work?
- It has a three-tier structure:
- Account Aggregator
- FIP (Financial Information Provider) and
- FIU (Financial Information User)
- A FIP is the data fiduciary, which holds customers’ data. It can be a bank, NBFC, mutual fund, insurance repository, or pension fund repository.
- An FIU consumes the data from a FIP to provide various services to the consumer.
- An FIU is a lending bank that wants access to the borrower’s data to determine if the borrower qualifies for a loan.
- Banks play a dual role – as a FIP and as an FIU.
- An AA should not support transactions by customers but should ensure appropriate mechanisms for proper customer identification.
- An AA should share information only with the customer to whom it relates or any other financial information user as authorized by the customer
What purpose does it serve?
- AA creates secure, digital access to personal data at a time when Covid-19 has led to restrictions on physical interaction.
- It reduces the fraud associated with physical data by introducing secure digital signatures and end-to-end encryption for data sharing.
- These capabilities in turn open up many possibilities.
- For instance, whereas physical collateral is usually required for an MSME loan, with secure data sharing via AA, ‘information collateral’ (or data on future MSME income) can be used to access a small formal loan.
- HDFC Bank and Axis Bank have been using AA for auto loans, Lending Kart for MSME loans, and IndusInd Bank for personal finance management.
What data can be shared?
- An Account Aggregator allows a customer to transfer his financial information pertaining to various accounts such as banks deposits, equity, mutual fund, and pension funds to any entity requiring access to such information.
- There are 19 categories of information that fall under ‘financial information, besides various other categories relating to banking and investments.
- For sharing of such information, the FIU is required to initiate a request for consent by way of any platform/app run by the AA.
- Such a request is received by the individual customer through the AA, and the information is shared by the AA, after consent is obtained.
- The AA framework is an excellent initiative that will compile all the digital footprints of the customer in one place and make it easy for lenders like us to access it.
- It will enable us to provide very quick turnarounds to our customers.
Can an AA see or store data?
- Data transmitted through the AA is encrypted. AAs are not allowed to store, process and sell the customer’s data.
- No financial information accessed by the AA from a FIP should reside with the AA.
- It should not use the services of a third-party service provider for undertaking the business of account aggregation.
- User authentication credentials of customers relating to accounts with various FIPs shall not be accessed by the AA.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Wood wide web
Mains level: Not Much
Plants appear to be simple enough in their organization. Whether small shrubs or tall trees, all they seem to be made up of is leaves, flowers, fruits, stems, and roots. But simple they are not. Being rooted in one spot has required very special personality traits.
Wood Wide Web
- Trees in the forest share resources by using an underground network.
- A scientist from the University of British Columbia, Dr. Suzanne Simard, revealed this network and called it the wood wide web.
- In the wood wide web, mycorrhizal fungi colonize the plant roots, and their tiny fungal filaments, or mycelia, connect hairy root tips of different trees together.
- Mycorrhizal fungi refer to the role they play in the plant’s root system—as symbionts.
- These root-associated fungi are harmless to plants. Instead, they form harmonious symbiotic relationships with plants.
An ancient association
- The association between plants and fungi is ancient.
- Fossils of plants from about 400 million years ago show the first evidence of roots, and these roots are fungus associations – rhizoids – suggesting that roots co-evolved with fungi.
- One good example is species of Penicillium, the fungus from which Alexander Fleming isolated the antibiotic penicillin.
- Fungus–root associations, called mycorrhizae, appear at first glance to be simple mutualisms that are beneficial to both.
- The root-invading fungus gains nutrients made by the plant, and the plants get difficult-to-find minerals like phosphorus from the microbe. But the association is deeper.
How does it work?
- The wood wide web works by offering a win-win situation for all parties: mycorrhizal fungi and trees.
- The fungal filaments transport nitrogen, phosphorous, water, and other hard-to-capture nutrients from the soil to the trees, in exchange for carbon-rich sugars made by the plants.
- The fungi also help deliver substances from one tree to its neighboring trees.
- By using the network, mature trees feed their seedlings with nutrients to boost their survival.
- When a plant is sick or dying, it can allocate its nutrients to the other plants nearby through the wood wide web.
Benefits offered
- Bacteria that associate with roots are called rhizobacteria, and a very wide range of these species are plant growth promoters.
- Like the fungi, mutualism operates in these relationships too. In exchange for sugars, these bacteria offer plants a wide range of benefits.
- They may help plants ward off pathogens that cause diseases of the root. They may even trigger systemic resistance to a pathogen throughout the plant.
Back2Basics: Symbiotic Relationship
Parasitism
- It is a type of interaction between two species that results in damage and harm to one member and benefit to another member.
- Ex. As in the case of the tick-host relationship, the tick gains benefit by sucking blood while the host is harmed as it loses blood.
Commensalism
- In this type of relationship one species benefits without affecting the other.
- Barnacles growing on the back of the whale, orchids growing as an epiphyte on some mango branch, cattle egret and grazing cattle in close association, Sea anemone, and the Clown Fish are some of the classic examples of Commensalism.
Amensalism
- In this relationship, one species is harmed while the other is neither harmed nor benefitted and remains unaffected.
- When an organism excretes the chemicals as a part of the normal metabolism of its own, but which may severely impact other nearby species, this kind of relationship is seen.
Mutualism
- In this type of relationship both the partners benefit from one another. When similar interaction occurs within a species, it is known as cooperation.
- Lichens a mutual relationship between algae and fungus. In this mutual cooperation, fungus gives protection and raw material for the preparation of the food while Green Algae synthesizes the food for both.
Saprophytism
- In this kind of biotic interaction, certain organisms live on dead and decaying organic matter.
- Dung Beetles, Vultures, Fungi, Bacteria, Protozoa are the example of Saprophytism.
Predation
- In this type of biological interaction, a predator feeds upon its prey and in this type of relationship, one species is benefitted while the other is harmed.
Competition
- In this type of interaction both the species compete with each other for the resources like food, shelter, mating, and both the species get harmed out of the process of competition.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vishwa Bharati University
Mains level: Not Much
The Calcutta High Court has directed that there can be no protest by the students within 50 meters of academic buildings at Visva-Bharati University.
Visva-Bharati
- Visva-Bharati is a central research university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India.
- It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva-Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India.
- Until independence, it was a college.
- Soon after independence, the institution was given the status of a central university in 1951 by an act of the Parliament.
Its history
- The origins of the institution date back to 1863 when Debendranath Tagore was given a tract of land by the zamindar of Raipur, zamindar of Kirnahar.
- He set up an ashram at the spot that has now come to be called chatim tala at the heart of the town.
- The ashram was initially called Brahmacharya Ashram, which was later renamed Brahmacharya Vidyalaya.
- It was established with a view to encouraging people from all walks of life to come to the spot and meditate.
- In 1901 his youngest son Rabindranath Tagore established a co-educational school inside the premises of the ashram.
- From 1901 onwards, Tagore used the ashram to organize the Hindu Mela, which soon became a center of nationalist activity.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vanniyar Movement
Mains level: Reservation issues
The government in Tamil Nadu has announced the construction of a memorial in Villupuram to people killed in police firing and clashes in 1987, during a movement demanding reservation for the Vanniyar community.
Vanniyar Movement
- Vanniyar are one of the largest and most consolidated backward communities in the state.
- They had raised massive protests in the mid-1980s demanding 20% reservation in the state, and 2% in central services.
- Their movement was backed by the Justice Party as well as the Self-Respect Movement.
- The agitation began in 1986 with activists sending hundreds of letters and telegrams to then Chief Minister M G Ramachandran seeking an audience.
- As there was no response from MGR and the then Rajiv Gandhi government, agitators started demonstrations in community strongholds, then went on to blockading rail and road traffic.
The 1987 deaths
- The Vanniyars declared an agitation from September 17 to 23, 1987, which turned violent.
- At least 21 protesters were killed, mostly in police firing, and also in clashes with members of Scheduled Caste communities.
- While this shook the state establishment, there was no immediate solution.
Reservation granted
- After 1989, the OBC quota was split into two: Backward Castes and Most Backward Castes.
- Vanniyars were categorized among the MBCs with 107 other communities, with 20% reservation.
- Three decades later,10.5% reservation was granted for Vanniyars within the 20% MBC quota.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dinosaur species mentioned
Mains level: Not Much
In a major discovery, footprints of three species of dinosaurs have been found in the Thar desert in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district.
Details of the footprints
- The footprints, made in the sediment or silt of the seashore, later become permanently stone-like.
- They belong to three species of dinosaurs — Eubrontes cf. giganteus, Eubrontes glenrosensis and Grallator tenuis.
- While the giganteus and glenrosensis species have 35 cm footprints, the footprint of the third species was found to be 5.5 cm.
- The dinosaur species are considered to be of the theropod type, with the distinguishing features of hollow bones and feet with three digits.
- All three species, belonging to the early Jurassic period, were carnivorous.
- Eubrontes could have been 12 to 15 metres long and weighed between 500 kg and 700 kg, while the height of the Grallator is estimated to have been two metres, as much as a human, with a length of up to three metres.
Key findings
- The discovery of dinosaur footprints prove the presence of the giant reptiles in the western part of the State, which formed the seashore to the Tethys Ocean during the Mesozoic era.
- Careful geological observations enabled the scientists to interpret ancient environments in which the rocks of the footprints, which were once soft sediments, were deposited.
- Geochemical analyses and calculation of weathering indices showed that the hinterland climate was seasonal to semi-arid during the deposition of the footprints.
- Fieldwork in the Kutch and Jaisalmer basins has suggested that after the main transgression during the early Jurassic period, the sea level changed several times.
- Spatial and temporal distribution of sediments and traces of fossils and post-depositional structures provided an indication to this phenomenon.
Significance
- These trace fossils are significant to ascertain how life started and evolved after the mass extinction of species, including dinosaurs, at the end of the cretaceous period around 65 million years ago.
- This research also illustrates the evidence of a fluvial freshwater palaeo-environment and tropical palaeo-climate, indicating the presence of a tropical forest and a huge network of rivers.
No matter what, try this PYQ:
Q.The term “sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction” is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of (CSP 2018):
(a) Widespread monoculture Practices agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.
(b) Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the manner it happened 65million years ago that caused the mass extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs.
(c) Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and promoting their cultivation in other Parts of the world which may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss of food biodiversity.
(d) Mankind’s over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss, natural habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution, and global climate change.
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Provident Fund
Mains level: Need for taxing PF
Following its Budget announcement in February, the Finance Ministry has now notified the rules for taxing interest income on contributions made to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) beyond Rs 2.5 lakh (for private-sector employees) and Rs 5 lakh (for government sector employees).
What is Provident Fund?
- Provident Fund is a government-managed retirement savings scheme for employees, who can contribute a part of their savings towards their pension fund, every month.
- These monthly savings get accumulated every month and can be accessed as a lump sum amount at the time of retirement, or end of employment.
- Since the provident fund money consists of a large chunk of savings, it can be used to grow your retirement corpus easily.
Types of provident funds
There are mainly three different types of PFs, which are as follows:
- General provident fund: It is a type of PF which is maintained by governmental bodies, including local authorities, the Railways, and other such bodies. Thus, these types of PFs are mainly defined by government bodies.
- Recognized provident fund: It is the one that applies to all privately-owned organizations that contain more than 20 employees. Moreover, holding a rightful claim to the PF associated with your organization, you will be given a UAN or Universal Account Number. This enables you to transfer your PF funds from one employer to another whenever you move from one occupation to another.
- Public provident fund: It is defined by the voluntary nature of investment on the part of the employee. The PPF is also associated with a minimum deposit of Rs. 50 and a maximum amount of Rs. 1.5 lakhs. The PPF has a lock-in period of 15 years.
What is the tax on EPF contributions?
- In February, the Budget proposed that tax exemption will not be available on interest income on PF contributions exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh in a year.
- Although this has been a concern for salaried individuals contributing to EPF, it will impact only those who contribute more than Rs 2.5 lakh in a year.
- It will not affect their existing corpus or the aggregate annual interest on that.
- In March, the government proposed to double the cap on contribution from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for tax-exempt interest income where there is no contribution by the employer.
- With this, the government provided relief for contributions made to the General Provident Fund that is available only to government employees and there is no contribution by the employer.
Why tax the PF?
- There have been instances where some employees are contributing huge amounts to these funds and are getting the benefit of tax exemption at all stages — contribution, interest accumulation, and withdrawal.
- With an aim to exclude high net-worth individuals (HNIs) from the benefit of high tax-free interest income on their large contributions, the government has proposed to impose a threshold limit for tax exemption.
- This will be applicable for all contributions beginning April 1, 2021.
How will it get taxed?
- For an individual in the higher tax bracket of 30%, the interest income on contribution above Rs 2.5 lakh would get taxed at the same marginal tax rate.
- What this means is that if an individual contributes Rs 3 lakh every year to the provident fund (including the voluntary PF contribution) then the interest on his contribution above Rs 2.5 lakh —that is, Rs 50,000 — will be taxed.
- So, the interest income of Rs 4,250 (8.5% on Rs 50,000) will be taxed at the marginal rate. If the individual falls in the 30% tax bracket, he/ she will have to pay a tax of Rs 1,325.
- For an individual contributing Rs 12 lakh in a year, the tax will be applicable on interest income on Rs 9.5 lakh (Rs 12 lakh minus Rs 2.5 lakh). In this case, the tax liability would amount to Rs 25,200.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blue Stragglers
Mains level: Not Much
Carrying out the first-ever comprehensive analysis of blue stragglers, Indian researchers found that half of the blue stragglers in their sample are formed through mass transfer from a close binary companion star.
What are Blue Stragglers?
- A blue straggler is a main-sequence star in an open or globular cluster that is more luminous and bluer than stars at the main sequence turnoff point for the cluster.
- The most likely explanation is that blue stragglers are the result of stars that come too close to another star or similar mass object and collide.
- The newly-formed star has thus a higher mass and occupies a position on the HR diagram which would be populated by genuinely young stars.
- One-third of them are likely formed through collisions of 2 stars, and the remaining are formed through interactions of more than 2 stars.
How are they formed?
- A bunch of stars born at the same time from the same cloud form a star cluster.
- As time passes, each star evolves differently depending on its mass.
- The most massive and bright stars evolve and move off the main sequence creating a bend in their track, known as the turnoff.
- Stars above this bend or brighter and hotter stars are not expected in a cluster, as they leave the main sequence to become red giants.
- But in 1953, Allan Sandage found that some stars seem to be hotter than the turnoff of the parent cluster.
Behind the nomenclature
- Initially, these blue stars still straggling above the turnoff were not part of these clusters.
- However, later studies confirmed that these stars are indeed cluster members, and they were termed “Blue Stragglers”.
- The only probable way these stars can still be present in these clusters is if they have somehow acquired extra mass along the way while on the main sequence.
- Confirming the mechanisms of the mass gain required a study using a large sample of blue-straggler stars and estimates of the mass they have gained.
What have Indian researchers found?
- Research showed that these stars are primarily present in the older and massive star clusters. And due to their large mass, they are segregated towards the centre of the clusters.
- The researchers compared the mass of the blue stragglers to the mass of the turnoff stars (which are the most massive ‘normal’ stars in the cluster) and predicted the formation mechanisms.
- The study will help improve understanding of these stellar systems to uncover exciting results in studies of large stellar populations, including galaxies.
- Following these findings, the researchers are conducting detailed analyses of individual blue stragglers in the catalog to obtain their stellar properties.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Species mentioned, Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA)
Mains level: NA
Indian biologist Shailendra Singh has been awarded the Behler Turtle Conservation Award for bringing three critically endangered turtle conservation species back from the brink of extinction.
Behler Turtle Conservation Award
- The Award is a major annual international award honoring excellence in the field of tortoise and freshwater turtle conservation and biology, and leadership in the chelonian conservation and biology community.
- It is co-presented by the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) among others.
- It is widely considered the “Nobel Prize” of turtle conservation and biology.
Citation for the 2021 Award
- For some species, such as the Red-crowned Roofed Turtle (Batagur kachuga), Northern River Terrapin (Batagur Baska), and Black Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia nigricans) Dr. Singh and his team’s efforts are the last hope for their wild survival in the country.
- In just 15 years, there are few individuals that have made such monumental contributions to turtle conservation.
Turtles in India
- The Northern River Terrapin (Batagur Baska) is being conserved at the Sunderbans; the Red-crowned Roofed Turtle (Batagur kachuga) at Chambal; and the Black Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia nigricans) at different temples in Assam.
- These critically endangered turtles are being conserved as a part of TSA India’s research, conservation breeding and education programme in different parts of the country.
- There are 29 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises in the country.
About Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA)
- The TSA was formed in 2001 as an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) partnership for sustainable captive management of freshwater turtles and tortoises.
- This alliance arose in response to the rampant and unsustainable harvest of Asian turtle populations to supply Chinese markets, a situation known as the Asian Turtle Crisis.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: South China Sea
Mains level: South China Sea Dispute
China’s new maritime rules designed to control the entry of foreign vessels in what Beijing calls “Chinese territorial waters” take effect.
What is the new Maritime Law?
- Foreign vessels, both military and commercial, will be henceforth required to submit to Chinese supervision in “Chinese territorial waters,” as per the new law.
- Operators of submersibles, nuclear vessels, ships carrying radioactive materials, and ships carrying bulk oil, chemicals, liquefied gas, and other toxic and harmful substances are required to report their detailed information upon their visits to Chinese territorial waters.
- Vessels that “endanger the maritime traffic safety of China” will be required to report their name, call sign, current position and next port of call, and estimated time of arrival.
- The name of shipborne dangerous goods and cargo deadweight will also be required.
Impact of the move
- The move is expected to have far-reaching consequences for the passage of vessels, both commercial and military, in the disputed South China Sea, East China Sea, and Taiwan Strait.
- It is likely to escalate the existing tension with the US and its neighbors in the region.
Why is this important?
- South China Sea: The South China Sea, which lies between China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, is of great economic importance globally.
- Shipping: Nearly one-third of the world’s shipping passes through its lanes, and the waters house numerous important fisheries.
Significance for India
- The South China Sea is a critical route for India, both militarily and commercially.
- It plays a vital role in facilitating India’s trade with Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN countries, and assists in the efficient procurement of energy supplies.
- More than 55% of India’s trade passes through the South China Sea and Malacca Straits.
- India is also involved in oil and gas exploration in offshore blocks in the margins of the Sea, which has led to standoffs with Chinese authorities.
The actual row
- The waters around China are hotly contested.
- Under a “nine-dash line” map, China claims most of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory.
- This claim is contested by its neighbors in the region and by the United States, which, though it has no claim in the Sea, backs the smaller nations in the fight against Chinese overreach.
International position
- Currently, international maritime activities are governed by an international agreement called the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
- China, India, and over a hundred other countries are signatories of UNCLOS (the US, significantly, is not).
- Accordingly, states have the right to implement territorial rights up to 12 nautical miles into the sea.
- The UNCLOS also states that all vessels have the right of “innocent passage” through this region – China’s new law violates this.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Coal mining in India
Mains level: Need for coal imports
The govt. has urged utilities to import coal despite having the world’s fourth-largest reserves, with several power plants on the verge of running out of fuel due to a surge in power demand.
Coal Mining in India
- Coal in India has been mined since 1774 and is now the second fastest mined in the world, producing 716 million metric tons (789 million short tons) in 2018.
- Due to high demand and poor average quality, India imports coking coal to meet the requirements of its steel plants.
- Dhanbad city is the largest coal-producing city and is called the Coal Capital of India.
- State-owned Coal India had a monopoly on coal mining between its nationalization in 1973 and 2018.
Consumption
- Coal-fired power accounts for more than 70% of India’s electricity generation. Electricity generation makes up three-fourths of India’s coal consumption.
Quality of coal
- The ash chemistry of Indian coal is such that it is high in silica and alumina.
- The ash is also highly abrasive because of its high quartz content, which can lead to erosion of the syngas cooling system when it gets fused.
- Indian coal’s sulfur content is low, about 0.5 percent.
- So, from a gas clean-up perspective, the flue gas desulphurization (removal of SOx gases) and NOx removal system is not economically justifiable and, therefore, not important.
- Also, in the Indian context, this is unnecessary to meet emission norms.
Coal reserves
- India has the fourth-largest coal reserves in the world. It is the second-largest producer of coal in the world, after China.
- Coal deposits are primarily found in eastern and south-central India.
- Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra accounted for 98.09% of the total known coal reserves in India.
- As of 31 March 2019, Jharkhand and Odisha had the largest coal deposits of 25.88% and 24.76% respectively.
Imports
- Coking Coal is being imported by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and other Steel manufacturing units mainly to bridge the gap between the requirement and indigenous availability and to improve the quality.
- Coal-based power plants, cement plants, captive power plants, sponge iron plants, industrial consumers, and coal traders are importing non-coking coal.
- Coke is imported mainly by Pig-Iron manufacturers and Iron & Steel sector consumers using mini-blast furnaces.
Try answering this PYQ:
Which of the following is/are the characteristics/ characteristics of Indian coal?
- High ash content
- Low Sulphur content
- Low ash fusion temperature
Select the correct option using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Snow leopard, black-necked crane
Mains level: Not Much
Ladakh has adopted two endangered species, snow leopard and black-necked crane, as State animal and State bird, two years after it was carved out as a separate Union Territory (UT) from the erstwhile State of J&K.
Snow Leopard
- The snow leopard (Panther unica) and black-necked crane (Grus nicricollis).
- Snow leopard, whose numbers are dwindling worldwide, has been categorized as “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.
- In total, there are about 7,500 snow leopards left in the world, out of which 500 are in India.
- However, experts state that the population of snow leopards is between 200-300 in Ladakh alone.
Black-necked Crane
- The black-necked crane is found in eastern Ladakh’s high-altitude wetlands and marshes.
- It is mostly listed as Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.
- Considered loyal couples, they are only found in Ladakh’s Changthang region. They arrive in March for breeding and migrate by October end or early November.
- It was the State bird of J&K before August 5, 2019.
About Ladakh
- Ladakh was established as a union territory of India on 31 October 2019, following the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act.
- Prior to that, it was part of the Jammu and Kashmir state. Ladakh is the largest and the second least populous union territory of India.
- It extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram range to the north to the main Great Himalayas to the south.
- The eastern end, consisting of the uninhabited Aksai Chin plains, is claimed by the Indian Government as part of Ladakh and has been under Chinese control since 1962.
- The largest town in Ladakh is Leh, followed by Kargil, each of which headquarters is a district.
- The Leh district contains the Indus, Shyok and Nubra river valleys. The Kargil district contains the Suru, Dras and Zanskar river valleys.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ZAPAD 2021
Mains level: Not Much
A contingent of 200 Army personnel will participate in the multinational Exercise ZAPAD 2021 being held at Nizhniy, Russia.
ZAPAD 2021
- ZAPAD is one of the theatre-level exercises of Russian armed forces and will focus primarily on operations against terrorists.
- The NAGA Battalion group participating in the exercise will feature an all arms combined task force.
- The exercise aims to enhance military and strategic ties amongst the participating nations while they plan and execute this exercise.
- In all, 17 countries have been invited by Russia for the exercise. Of these nine are Participating countries which include Mongolia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Russia, India, and Belarus.
- The other eight countries are Observers which include Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka.
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[Prelims Spotlight] Various Defence Exercises in News
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: West Nile Virus
Mains level: NA
Russia warned of a possible increase in West Nile virus infections this autumn as mild temperatures and heavy precipitation create favorable conditions for the mosquitos that carry it.
West Nile virus (WNV)
- WNV is mainly transmitted through mosquito bites and can lead to fatal neurological diseases in humans, although most people infected never develop any symptoms.
- Cases of WNV occur during mosquito season, which starts in the summer and continues through fall.
Its origin
- Originally from Africa, the WNV has spread to Europe, Asia, and North America.
- It was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937.
- It was identified in birds in the Nile delta region in 1953.
- Before 1997, WNV was not considered pathogenic for birds.
- Human infections attributable to WNV have been reported in many countries for over 50 years.
Symptoms
- Infected persons usually have no symptoms or mild symptoms.
- Some of the symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, skin rash, and swollen lymph glands.
- They can last a few days to several weeks and usually, go away on their own.
- Prolonged illness may cause inflammation of the brain, called encephalitis, or inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, called meningitis.
Treatment
- There is no vaccine against the virus in humans although one exists for horses, the WHO says.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Leaded Petrol
Mains level: Not Much
The use of leaded petrol has been eradicated from the globe, a/c to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
What is Leaded Petrol?
- Tetraethyl-lead (TEL) is a petro-fuel additive, first being mixed with petrol beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that allowed engine compression to be raised substantially.
- This in turn caused increased vehicle performance and fuel economy.
- The practice of adding tetraethyl lead to petrol had spread widely to all countries soon after its anti-knock and octane-boosting properties were discovered.
- TEL is still used as an additive in some grades of aviation gasoline.
Issues with leaded petrol
- Lead is toxic, affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children.
- It affects the brain, liver, kidneys, and bones. Lead is measured in the blood to understand exposure.
- Lead in bone is released into the blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing foetus.
- More recent research has indicated that lead can damage the infant brain even at blood levels as low as 5 microunits per decilitre (μ/dl).
India’s tryst with leaded petrol
- India was among those countries that took early action to phase out leaded petrol. The process of phase down that had started in 1994, got completed in 2000.
- Initially, low-leaded petrol was introduced in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in 1994, followed by unleaded petrol in 1995.
- The entire country got low-leaded petrol in 1997 while leaded fuel was banned in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
- The final introduction of unleaded petrol in the entire country was mandated in April 2000.
- This decision was also catalyzed by the Supreme Court order that had directed the introduction of unleaded petrol to enable the adoption of catalytic converters in petrol cars.
Significance of phasing out
- It is a milestone that will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths and save world economies over $2.4 trillion annually.
- It has taken 100 years to stop the use of leaded fuel finally.
Try answering this PYQ:
Q.Lead, ingested or inhaled, is a health hazard. After the addition of lead to petrol has been banned, what still are the sources of lead poisoning? (CSP 2012)
- Smelting units
- Pens pencils
- Paints
- Hair oils and cosmetics
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Post your answers here.
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