[Mission 2022] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY- 04 December 2021

GS Paper 1:

Topics Covered: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.

Context:

A deep depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into cyclonic storm Jawad and is likely to make landfall near Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

The name was given by?

• Saudi Arabia has given the cyclone its name ‘Jawad’. The meaning ‘Jawad’ is liberal or merciful. The carries significance as this cyclonic storm will not be as severe as the previous ones.

How are cyclones formed?

Cyclones are formed over the oceanic water in the tropical region.

In this region, the sunlight is highest which results in warming of land and water surface. Due to warming of the surface, the warm moist air over the ocean rises upwards following which cool air rushes in to fill the void, they too get warm and rise — the cycle continues.

But what creates the spin?

Wind always blows from high pressure to low pressure areas. High pressure areas are created in the cold region while low is created in the warm regions. Polar regions are high pressure areas as the amount of sunlight here is less than the tropical region. So, wind blows from polar regions to tropical regions.

• Then comes the Earth’s movement, which is west to east. The Earth’s rotation on its axis causes deflection of the wind (in the tropical region as the speed of spinning of Earth is higher compared to polar sides due to its spherical shape — blowing from both the polar regions. Wind coming from the Arctic is deflected to the right while Antarctic wind deflects to the left side.
• So, wind is already blowing in a direction. But when it reaches the warmer place, cool air starts getting attracted to the centre to fill the gap. So while moving to the centre, cool air keeps getting deflected resulting in circulation of wind movement — this process continues until the cyclone hits the land.

What happens when a cyclone hits the land?

Cyclone dissipates when it hits the land as the warm water that rises and creates space for cool water is no longer available on land. Also, the moist air that rises up forms clouds leading to rains that accompany gusting winds during cyclones.

Insta Curious:

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) maintains rotating lists of names. But, how are cyclones named? Read this.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Factors responsible for the genesis of cyclones.
2. Naming of cyclones in various regions of the world.
3. Why are there more cyclones in Eastern coast of India?
4. What is coriolis force?
5. What is the latent heat of condensation?

Mains Link:

Discuss the factors responsible for the formation of tropical cyclones.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 1:

Topics Covered: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.

Context:

Faced with the fourth consecutive year of flooding and landslips since 2018, two months of the northeast monsoon alone has caused massive losses in terms of damage to life, property, and crops.

• The overall estimated damage caused by the rain in October and November alone has been pegged at ₹11,916.3 crore and as per the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms, ₹1,281.92 crore.

What is the Northeast monsoon?

• Occurs during October to December, and is a small-scale monsoon compared to South- West Monsoon.
• It is confined to the Southern peninsula.
• The rainfall associated with the Northeast monsoon is important for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, north interior Karnataka, Mahe and Lakshadweep.
• Some South Asian countries such as Maldives, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, too, record rainfall during October to December.

How is La Niña linked with the Northeast monsoon?

While La Niña conditions enhance the rainfall associated with the Southwest monsoon, it has a negative impact on rainfall associated with the Northeast monsoon.

During La Niña years, the synoptic systems — low pressure or cyclones — formed in the Bay of Bengal remain significantly to the north of their normal position.

• Besides, instead of moving westwards, these systems recurve. As they lie to the north of their normal position, not much rainfall occurs over southern regions like Tamil Nadu.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. What is El Nino?
2. What is La Nina?
3. What is ENSO?
4. When do these events occur?
5. Impact of ENSO on Asia, Africa and Australia.

Mains Link:

Discuss the impact of La Nina weather phenomenon on India.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Context:

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh has reserved his decision to allow the introduction of a private member’s Bill to amend the Preamble to the Constitution.

About the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021:

Introduced by BJP Member from Kerala K J Alphons.

• The Bill seeks to change the words in the Preamble “EQUALITY of status and of opportunity” to “EQUALITY of status and of opportunity to be born, to be fed, to be educated, to get a job and to be treated with dignity”.
• It also seeks to replace the word “socialist” with “equitable”.
• The Bill also proposes adding “access to information technology” and “happiness” as objectives.

Four important aspects can be ascertained from the above text of the preamble:

• Source of authority of the constitution: It derives its authority from the people of India.
• Nature of Indian state: It declares India to be a sovereign, socialistic, secular democratic and republican polity.
• Objectives of the constitution: It specifies justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as the objectives.
• Date of adoption: Nov 26th, 1949.

Preamble as part of the constitution:

• In the Berubari Union Case (1960), the Supreme Court opined that the Preamble was not part of the constitution.
• The above opinion was reversed in Keshavananda Bharati case in 1973; the SC held that Preamble is part of the constitution. This opinion was further clarified by the SC in LIC of India case (1995).

Though preamble is part of the constitution;

• It is a neither a source of power to legislature nor a prohibition upon the powers of legislature.
• It is a non-justiciable, that is , its provisions are not enforceable in any courts of law.

Preamble and its amendability:

• In Keshavananda Bharati case, the court held that the basic elements or the fundamental features of the constitution as contained in the preamble cannot be altered by an amendment under article 368.
• The preamble has been amended only once. That is- 42nd constitutional amendment act, 1976 when three new terms were added- Socialist, secular and integrity.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Preamble.
2. Key terms.
3. 42nd CAA.
4. Relevant cases.
5. Amendability of Preamble.

Mains Link:

The Preamble is widely accepted as the epitome or soul and spirit of the Indian constitution. Discuss.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

Context:

As many as 153 private members’ Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday, including one that seeks protection from lynching and another wants compulsory teaching of the Bhagavad Gita in educational institutions.

Who is a Private Member?

Any MP who is not a Minister is referred to as a private member.

• The purpose of private member’s bill is to draw the government’s attention to what individual MPs see as issues and gaps in the existing legal framework, which require legislative intervention.

Admissibility of a private member’s Bill:

The admissibility is decided by the Chairman for Rajya Sabha and Speaker in the case of Lok Sabha.

• Its rejection by the House has no implication on the parliamentary confidence in the government or its resignation.

The procedure is roughly the same for both Houses:

• The Member must give at least a month’s notice before the Bill can be listed for introduction.
• The House secretariat examines it for compliance with constitutional provisions and rules on legislation before listing.

Is there any exception?

While government Bills can be introduced and discussed on any day, private member’s Bills can be introduced and discussed only on Fridays.

Has a private member’s bill ever become a law?

As per PRS Legislative, no private member’s Bill has been passed by Parliament since 1970. To date, Parliament has passed 14 such Bills, six of them in 1956. In the 14th Lok Sabha, of the over 300 private member’s Bills introduced, roughly four per cent were discussed, the remaining 96 per cent lapsed without a single dialogue.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.

Context:

A private member’s Bill has been introduced in Parliament mandating that 25% of all corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds be used for restoration, management and maintenance of ancient monuments and archaeological sites.

• While some members supported the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019, few others disagreed with the mandatory provision.

Need for more resources:

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the National Monuments Authority (NMA) and other agencies tasked with looking after monuments lacked the resources needed for the upkeep of the sites.

Opposition to the Bill:

The aim of CSR is to benefit local communities. Therefore, the funds should not be diverted.

What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?

It is the integration of socially beneficial programs and practices into a corporation’s business model and culture.

How is it regulated in India?

India is one of the first countries in the world to make CSR mandatory for companies following an amendment to the Companies Act, 2013 (Companies Act) in 2014.

• Under the Companies Act, businesses can invest their profits in areas such as promoting rural development in terms of healthcare, sanitation, education including skill development, environmental sustainability, etc.

Section 135(1) of the Act prescribes thresholds to identify companies which are required to constitute a CSR Committee – those, in the immediately preceding financial year of which:

1. net worth is Rs 500 Crore or more; or.
2. turnover is Rs 1000 Crore or more; or.
3. net profit amounts to Rs 5 Crore or more.

As per the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019, CSR is applicable to companies before completion of 3 financial years.

Amount to be spent:

• Companies are required to spend, in every financial year, at least 2% of their average net profits generated during the 3 immediately preceding financial years.
• For companies that have not completed 3 financial years, average net profits generated in the preceding financial years shall be factored in.

Treatment of unspent amounts:

• Amounts to be utilised towards a CSR activity, but unspent must be parked in a special account as prescribed under the provision within 30 days of the end of the relevant financial year.
• The unspent amount must be utilised by the company for the particular CSR activity within a period of 3 financial years from the date of such transfer, failing which, it must be transferred to any fund provided for in schedule VII of the Companies Act namely inter alia the Clean Ganga Fund, Swachh Baharat Kosh, Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
• Any unspent amount which does not relate to an ongoing CSR activity must be transferred to a fund provided for in Schedule VII within a span of 6 months of the end of the relevant financial year.

Social responsibility has a strategic importance for two reasons:

• A healthy business can only succeed in a healthy society. Thus, it is in the best interest of a company to produce only goods and services which strengthen the health of society.
• If the company wants to succeed in the long term it needs to have the acceptance—or licence to operate—from social actors affected by the company’s’ operations.

Insta Curious:

Do you know about the Injeti Srinivas’s Committee? Reference: read this.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. About CSR.
2. Eligibility.
3. Benefits.
4. CSR areas.

Mains Link:

Do you agree that corporate social responsibility makes companies more profitable and sustainable? Analyse.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Issues related to health.

Context:

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has spent over ₹1,000 crore on its Poshan or Nutrition Tracker, which records real-time data on malnourished and ‘severe acute malnourished’ children in each anganwadi. But four years since its launch, the Government is yet to make the data public.

Concerns:

Government officials have cited privacy concerns as a reason for keeping the data under lock and key but experts say it can easily be anonymised as is the case with data for several other government schemes.

About the Poshan Tracker:

• The Poshan Tracker, known as the ICDS-CAS (Integrated Child Development Services-Common Application Software) in its earlier avatar, was set up with the aim of tracking and improving various services delivered at anganwadis and to ensure nutritional management of beneficiaries.
• This real-time monitoring system is one of the key pillars of Poshan Abhiyan or Nutrition Mission approved by the Union Cabinet in November 2017 with a financial outlay of ₹9,000 crore for three years.

About Poshan Abhiyaan:

• The programme seeks to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
• Launched in 2018 with specific targets to be achieved by 2022.

It aims to reduce:

• Stunting and wasting by 2% a year (total 6% until 2022) among children.
• Anaemia by 3% a year (total 9%) among children, adolescent girls and pregnant women and lactating mothers.

The target of the mission is to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.

Background:

More than a third of the children under five face stunting and wasting and 40% aged between one and four are anaemic. Over 50% of pregnant and other women were found to be anaemic, said the National Family Health Survey 4 released in 2016.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Goals and targets under Poshan Abhiyaan.

Mains Link:

Discuss the objectives and significance of the scheme.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Context:

The amount of bonds circulating with negative debt yields appears to be dissipating in Europe.

• Global yields have been low for quite some time, and that accelerated when the pandemic struck in 2020 as investors piled into the safety of bonds.

What are they?

These are debt instruments that offer to pay the investor a maturity amount lower than the purchase price of the bond.

• Can be issued by central banks or governments.
• Here, investors pay interest to the borrower to keep their money with them.

Then, why do Investors buy such bonds?

• Such instruments are usually in demand during times of stress and uncertainty. This is to protect their capital from significant erosion.
• From currency fluctuations to deflation, there are scenarios in which purchasers of negative-yield bonds can come out ahead.

Relationship between Bond Price and Yield:

A bond’s price moves inversely with its yield or interest rate; the higher the price of a bond, the lower the yield.

The reason for the inverse relationship between price and yield is due, in part, to bonds being fixed-rate investments.

1. Investors might sell their bonds if it’s expected that interest rates will rise in the coming months and opt for the higher-rate bonds later on.
2. Conversely, bond investors might buy bonds, driving the prices higher, if they believe interest rates will fall in the future because existing fixed-rate bonds will have a higher rate or yield.

What is the key factor driving this demand today?

1. It is the massive amount of liquidity injected by the global central banks after the pandemic began that has driven up prices of various assets including equities, debt and commodities.
2. Many investors could also be temporarily parking money in negative-yielding government debt for the purpose of hedging their risk portfolio in equities.
3. In case the fresh wave of the Covid-19 pandemic leads to further lockdowns of economies, then there could be further negative pressure on interest rates, pushing yields down further, and leading to profits even for investors who put in money at the current juncture.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. What are Negative Yield Bonds?
2. Relationship between Bond Price and Yield.

Mains Link:

Discuss why Negative Yield Bonds are gaining popularity these days.

Sources: Indian Express.