Heat Wave

Syllabus: GS-Paper-1-Geography (Temperature) 

Why in News?

About 170 people were died in India due to the heatwave. 

 Heat Waves: 

 · They are prolonged periods of excessively hot weather which can cause adverse impact on human health, environment and economy. 

 · Being a tropical country, India is vulnerable to heatwaves.

 Criteria for Declaring Heat Wave in our country: 

 · Plains and Hilly Regions: For Plains if the maximum temperature reaches at least 40 degrees or more then it is considered as heat waves.

 · For hilly region the maximum temperature should be 30 degrees or more to be considered as heat wave. 

 · Normal Heat Wave: If there is an increase of 4.50 degrees to 6.40 degrees. 

 · Severe Heat Wave: If the temperature increases by 6.40 degrees or more. 

 · Coastal area: When the maximum temperature is increased by 4.50 degrees or more.

 Actual Maximum Temperature of Heat Wave:

· The actual maximum temperature should be more than 45 degrees to be considered as a heat wave. 

 · When the actual maximum temperature should be more than 47 degrees then it is considered as a Severe heat wave. 

 · The actual maximum temperature should be more than 37 degrees to be considered as a heat wave in coastal regions. 

 Causes:

· Global Warming

 · Urbanization

 · El Nino Effect.

Article 370 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Polity 

Why in News? 

 Centre has filed an affidavit in the SC claiming that J&K is witnessing an unprecedented era of peace after the dilution of Article 370.

Article 370:

· It was added to the Indian Constitution in 1949.

· It is a temporary provision which permitted the Jammu & Kashmir to draft its own constitution.

 · Under this article Jammu & Kashmir can recommend which articles of the Indian constitution applies to the state. 

 · According to this article the legislative assembly of J&K had 6 year term 

 · It had the separate constitution, flag or anthem. 

 · The citizens of J&K used to have the dual citizenship

 · Financial Emergency will not be applied to it. 

 Article 35 A: 

 · It was introduced through a Presidential Order in 1954. 

 · It empowers the Jammu & Kashmir Legislature to define the permanent residents of the state. 

 · It also defines the special rights and privileges of the residents.

 · It appears in the Appendix I of the constitution. 

 Changes: 

· The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill was passed in 2019 to replace the presidential order. 

 · It has divided the states of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. 

 · This is the first time that a state is converted into the UT. 

 · Under Section 32 of the J&K 2019 Bill the J & K assembly can only make laws on any state subject except on the public order and Police.

 · Now the citizens will have the Fundamental Rights mentioned in the constitution. 

 · The Indian Penal Code will replace the Ranbir Penal code of J&K.

 · Article 35A originated from the Article 370 was declared void. 

 Challenges:

· Constitutional challenges-The President must require the recommendation of the constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. 

 · It is violation of the Article 3 because it was not referred to the State assembly by the President. 

 · It leads to the rise in militancy.

PM Matsya Sampada Yojana 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Governance-Important Policies 

 Why in News? 

 The mobile app for PM Matsya Sampada Yojana has launched recently 

 PM Matsya Sampada Yojana:

· It is a flagship scheme which was introduced as a part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. 

 · It was launched on 10^th September, 2020. 

 · It focusses on the sustainable development of the fisheries. 

 · Its main aim is to double the incomes of fishers and fish farmers. 

 · It wants to enhance the fish production and increase the fish exports by 2024-25.

· It aims to reduce the post-harvest losses from 20-25% to 10%. 

 · It adopts the cluster or area-based approaches. 

 · It mainly focusses on the employment generation. 

 Ministry:

· It works under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

Implementation:

· This scheme is implemented by the two separate components.

 · They are: 

a) Central Sector Scheme:

· The entire project cost will be funded by the Government of India. 

 b) Centrally sponsored Scheme: 

 · The sub components/activities will be implemented by the States/UTS. 

 · The funds will be shared between the Centre and state. 

 · For the North Eastern and Himalayan States the funds would be shared as 90:10 between the centre and the states. 

 · For other states the ratio would be 60:40 between the center and states.

POCSO Act 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Polity

Why in News? 

A scheme of WCD ministry is launched under the Nirbhaya Fund and supports the POCSO victims. 

 Important Points: 

· It is the scheme for critical care and support for accessing justice to rape, gang rape survivors and the minor girls who get pregnancy. 

 · It aims at providing food, shelter and daily needs to the victims. 

 · It involves safe transportation for attending court hearings and provides legal aid to the minor girls who are abandoned by their family due to pregnancy. 

 · According to the National Crime Records Bureau, about 51,863 cases are reported under POCSO Act in the year 2021.

Objectives:

· Its main objective is to provide integrated support and assistance to the girl child victims. 

 · It provides immediate emergency and non-emergency range of services. 

 · It promotes access to education, police assistance, psychological and mental counselling etc. 

 POCSO Act: 

 · It was enacted in the year 2012. 

 · It was introduced to provide legal protection to children from the sexual abuse, exploitation and pornography.

 · It mentions about the various forms of sexual offences against the children.

 · A child is defined as any person below the age of 18 years. 

 · It defines the punishments for the perpetrators.

 · Its main objective is to safeguard the rights and dignity of the children who are the victims. 

 · It provides the establishments of special courts. 

 · Special Public prosecutors and child welfare committees are also established. Punishment: 

 · The offenders will get a punishment ranging from 7 years to life imprisonment. 

 · The punishment can even extend to the death penalty in some cases.

Foreign Portfolio Investment 

 Syllabus: Prelims-GS Paper-3-Economy 

Why in News? 

SEBI has informed the SC that the ultimate owner of FPI remains non-existent in Hindenburg-Adani allegation 

 Foreign Portfolio Investment: 

 · It involves holding the financial assets and securities outside of the one’s own nation. 

 · Examples: Stocks, American Depositary Receipts (ADR), Global Depositary Receipts (GDR), mutual funds etc. 

 · It is considered as the part of a country’s capital account.

 · It is more liquid and volatile. 

 · The Foreign Portfolio Investors are passive investors who have no control over the direct ownership of a company.

 · The investments done by NRI does not comes under FPI. 

 Advantages of FPI: 

 · Investors can have accessibility to the International Credit. 

 · It increases the liquidity of domestic capital markets. 

 · It leads to the development of equity markets. 

 What is FDI? 

 · FDI stands for Foreign Direct Investment. 

 · It is the investment made by the foreign investors to gain the substantial interest in the enterprise which is located in the other country. 

 · The investors of FDI are active investors. 

 · They provide the long-term investment in a country.

National Securities Depository Limited 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Economy 

Why in News?

NSDL has filed a draft-red herring prospects with markets regulator SEBI. 

 National Securities Depository Limited: 

 · It was established in the year 1996. 

 · It is an Indian central securities depository.

 · It is the first electronic securities depository in India with the national coverage.

 · It is located in Mumbai. 

 · It stores the digital securities such as investor bonds, shares and debentures.

 · It is supported by the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), Unit Trust of India (UTI), National Stock Exchange (NSE). 

 Advantages: 

· NSDL assists the investors and brokers in the country’s capital market. 

 · Its main goal is to provide security and stability of the Indian markets.

 · It plays an important role in producing the products and services that will meet the financial services.

 Securities and Exchange Board of India: 

 · It is a statutory body formed in the year 1992. 

 · It is also a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial body.

 · Before SEBI, Controller of Capital Issues was the regulatory authority. 

 · It has derived its authority from Capital Issues Act, 1947. 

 · Headquarters are located in Mumbai.

· Other regional offices of SEBI are located in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi.

 · Its main objective is to protect the interest of the investors. 

 · It promotes the development of the securities act. 

 · It regulates the functioning of the market intermediaries. 

 Structure: 

· It consists of a chairperson and several other whole time and part time members.

 · It also appoints various committees whenever required. 

 Powers and Functions: · It drafts regulations, conduct inquiries and impose penalties.

 · It can regulate any money pooling scheme worth 100 crore or more. 

 · The chairman has the authority to order search and seizure operations.

Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority

Syllabus: Prelims-Important Organizations

Why in News?

Delhi High Court has dismissed the PepsiCo’s appeal against PPV&FR of FC5 potato variety. 

 Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Authority:

· It was established under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act 2001. 

 · This Act is in conformity with the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, 1978. 

 · Its aim is to establish an effective system for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and also the plant breeders. 

 · It works under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. 

 Functions of the Authority:

 · Registration of the new plant varieties

 · To preserve the Plant genetic resources 

 · To maintain the National Register of Plant Varieties 

 · It maintains the National Gene Bank 

 · It provides documentation of varieties registered. 

 FC5 Potato variety: 

 · It was first cultivated by Dr. Robert W. Hoopes.

 · He is known for holding the most potato patents. 

 · The FC5 variety has 5 percent less moisture content than other varieties of potato. 

 · Usually, the potato varieties have 85% of moisture content. 

 · Whereas the FC5 variety has 80% of moisture content. 

 · So, this variety is more suitable for making snacks such as potato chips.

Global Peace Index 2023 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Important Reports

Why in News?

The 17^th edition of Global Peace Index has released recently. 

 Global Peace Index:

· It is released by the Institute for Economics and Peace. 

 · It was started in the year 2009. 

 · GPI is considered as the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. 

 · It covers about 163 countries which represents 99.7% of the world’s population. 

 · It utilizes 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators. 

 · It measures the peace by using three indicators. 

They are: a) Societal Safety and Security b) Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict c) Militarisation 

 Highlights:

· Most Peaceful countries-Iceland stood at first position which is followed by Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and Austria. 

 · Least Peaceful Countries-Afghanistan stood at last place. 

 · It is followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

 · Rank of India-It ranked 126 which climbed 2 ranks showing 3% of improvement than the previous year. 

 · Global: The average score of global peacefulness has declined by five percent. 

 Important Points:

· The headquarters of IEP is located in Sydney, Australia

· Some of the reports released by IEP are:

 a) Global Terrorism Index 

 b) Ecological Threat Report

 c) Safety Perceptions Index etc.

Solomon Islands 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Important Places 

Why in News?

Solomon Islands and China has signed deals on Police, economy and Technology.

 Solomon Islands:

 · Solomon Island is an island nation of Melanesia.

 · It lies to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu. 

 · It is located in the south-Pacific region. 

 · The capital of Solomon Islands is Honiara. 

 · Honiara is located on the largest island Guadalcanal.

 · Solomon Island consists of six major islands and about 900 small islands.

 · Climate-Extremely humid throughout the year. 

 · Polity-It is a constitutional monarchy

Questions

1.Consider the following statements regarding heatwaves in India: 

 Statement-I: When the actual maximum temperature should be more than 47 degrees then it is considered as a Severe heat wave 

 Statement-II: El Nino is one of the causes for Heat Waves in India. 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct.

2.Consider the following statements regarding Article 370: 

 1. According to this article the legislative assembly of J&K had 5- year term only. 

 2. The J & K assembly can only make laws on any state subject except on the public order and Police after the revocation of Article 370. 

 3. It was added to the Indian Constitution in 1950 

 How many of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only One 

 b) Only two

 c) Only three 

 d) None

3.Consider the following statements regarding PM Matsya Sampada Yojana:

 1.It was launched as a part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat in the year 2021. 

 2. It works under the Ministry of Agriculture 

 3. It wants to enhance the fish production and increase the fish exports by 2025-26.

 How many of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only One 

 b) Only two 

 c) Only three 

 d) None

4.Consider the following statements regarding POCSO Act: 

 Statement-I: It was introduced in the year 2009 

 Statement-II: A child is defined as any person below the age of 18 years.

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

5.Consider the following statements regarding Foreign Portfolio Investments: 

 Statement I: They are passive investors who have no control over the direct ownership of a company. 

 Statement-II: The investments done by NRI also comes under FPI. 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

6.Consider the following statements regarding SEBI:

 1.It is a statutory body formed in the year 1992.

 2. It is also a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial body. 

 3.Headquarters of SEBI is located in Delhi. 

 How many of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only One 

 b) Only two

 c) Only three 

 d) None

7.Consider the following statements regarding PPV&FR Act: 

 Statement-I: It was enacted in the year 2001. 

 Statement-II: It works under the Ministry of Agriculture and Family Welfare 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct.

8.Consider the following statements regarding Global Peace Index 2023: 

 1.It covers 193 countries 

 2. Denmark stood at 1^st place in the GPI 2023. 

 3. India has shown improvement in 2023.

 How many of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only One

 b) Only two 

 c) Only three 

 d) None