Prelim Bits 03-04-2022 & 04-04-2022 | Daily UPSC Current Affairs

Look Out Notice

Journalist Rana Ayyub was stopped in Mumbai based on a look out circular (LOC), issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), that restrains her from leaving the country.

• A Look out notice (LOC) is issued to make sure that an individual who is absconding or wanted by law enforcement agencies is not able to leave the country.
• It is mostly used at immigration checkpoints at international airports and seaports by the immigration branch.
• The police can approach a court asking for the restriction of a person’s movement outside the country, when a person is a suspect and the police apprehend that the person may not join the investigation at a later stage.
• The subject of an LOC can challenge the circular and get relief from a court.
• Issuing an LOC - An LOC can be initiated by a large number of authorised officers, including
  1. An officer not below the rank of deputy secretary,
  2. An officer not below the rank of joint secretary in the state government,
  3. A district magistrate or superintendent of police,
  4. Designated officers of various law enforcing and security agencies,
  5. A designated officer of Interpol,
  6. An officer not below the rank of additional director in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
• Since 2018, an officer not below the rank of chairman/managing director/chief executive of any public sector bank can make a request.
• An LOC can be modified/deleted/withdrawn by the Bureau of Immigration only on the specific request of the authorised originator on whose request the LOC was issued.
• Does an LOC lead to arrest? -Not necessarily. LOC is of many types.
• They can seek to merely stop a person against whom the circular has been issued from travelling outside the country, to prevent a person from entering the country, or inform the concerned investigation agencies.
• The proforma of the LOC also contains a request to detain the individual at the local police/investigation agency, which generally leads to arrest.

Reference

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/everyday-explainers/what-is-a-look-out-notice-and-when-is-it-issued-7848561/
2. https://news.abplive.com/news/money-laundering-case-journalist-rana-ayyub-stopped-from-boarding-flight-to-london-enforcement-directorate-mumbai-airport-look-out-notice-1522461

Darlong Community

Darlong community was officially included in the list of Scheduled Tribes after the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

• Darlong is one of the 19 tribal communities of Tripura. It is a small community of around 11,000 people.
• Darlongs, despite being Scheduled Tribes, were never given ST certificates.
• Since they were considered a generic tribe under the Kuki community, they were handed their tribal certificates as members of ‘Kuki’ community.

Tribal musicologist and Rosem (tribal instrument) maestro Thanga Darlong was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award a few years back for his contribution to culture.

• This 2022 Amendment Bill was put forth to include Darlongs as a Kuki sub-tribe since people of same communities live in hilly terrains as different sub-tribes and were excluded from the ST list since long.
• About - Despite its small population, the community has a high prevalence of education, cultural activities, etc.
• The members of the community are serving in different high positions in the local administration.
• Traditionally, the Darlongs adopt Jhum cultivation/ shifting cultivators. But the Darlongs call it as ‘Loi’.
• Today, most of them have taken up agro-forestry and horticultural plantation or orchard development as their main livelihoods in addition to wet rice cultivation and seasonal vegetables cultivation.
• Traditionally, the Darlongs were under the hereditary village chieftains (called lal) but are now replaced by a democratic body called Village Council with an elected Village Chairman and representatives.
• The Village Councils are in turn linked to an apex council (known as Darlong Hnam Inzom or Darlong Peoples’Apex Council).
• Every Darlong must inculcate a compelling code of social ethics, known as Tlawminngaina or Tlawmngaihna stand for the common good of the community above self and to be charitable & humane in all dispositions.

Reference

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-does-including-tripura-darlong-community-in-st-list-mean-7848016/
2. https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/junior-sociologists/dissertation-abstracts/list-of-abstracts/1009

UNEP Report on Noise Pollution

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released the Frontiers report on the environmental challenges posed by noise, wildfires and the disruption of biological rhythms of plants, animals and ecological cycles.

• This is the fourth edition of the Frontiers Report, which was first published in 2016 with an alert to the growing risk of zoonotic diseases, four years before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The first chapter of this report compiles studies about noise levels in several cities around the world.
• It illustrates a subset of 61 cities and the range of decibel (dB) levels that have been measured.
• At a maximum value of 119 dB, Dhaka (Bangladesh) is the first-most-noisiest city in the list.
• Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Asansol and Moradabad are the five Indian cities mentioned in this list.
• Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh was shown as having a dB range from 29 to 114. It was the second-most-noisiest city in the list.
• Factors - Road traffic, industry and high population density.
• Impacts - Unwanted, prolonged, high-level sounds from road traffic, railways, or leisure activities impair human health and well-being.
• This includes chronic annoyance and sleep disturbance, resulting in severe heart diseases and metabolic disorders, and poorer mental health.
• Traffic noise exposure is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders such as elevated blood pressure, arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease and diabetes.
• The elderly, pregnant women and shift workers are among those at risk of noise-induced sleep disturbance.
• Particularly affected are the very young, the elderly and marginalized communities near high traffic roads, and industrial areas and far from green spaces.

The 2018 guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) established a health-protective recommendation for road traffic noise levels of 53 dB.

India on Noise Pollution

• In India, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is mandated to track noise levels, set standards as well as ensure, via their State units, that sources of excessive noise are controlled.
• The CPCB has a manual monitoring system where sensors are installed in major cities and few cities have the facility to track noise levels in real time.
• It also measures noise levels before and after Diwali in major cities, to publicise the impact of firecrackers.

Reference

1. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/the-key-takeaways-of-a-unep-report-on-noise-pollution/article65286815.ece?homepage=true
2. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/deadly-wildfires-noise-pollution-and-disruptive-timing-life-cycles

New Year in Different Parts of India

The Prime Minister of India greets people on Sajibu Cheiraoba, Cheti Chand, Navreh, Gudi Padwa, Ugadi and Nav Samvatsar.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812616
2. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812615
3. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812614
4. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812613
5. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812611
6. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812610
7. https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/when-is-sajibu-nongma-panba-2022-all-you-need-to-know-about-manipur-new-year-4924859.html
8. https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/festivals/sindhi-food-to-relish-for-cheti-chand-101648887434240.html
9. https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/india/cheti-chand
10. https://zeenews.india.com/culture/hindu-new-year-2022-today-kashmiri-pandits-welcome-navreh-cheti-chand-celebrations-in-rajasthan-gudi-padwa-ugadi-how-nation-celebrates-2449977.html
11. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812402

IndAus ECTA

India and Australia signed the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA).

• India-Australia ECTA encompasses cooperation across the entire gamut of bilateral economic and commercial relations between the two countries. It covers areas like
  1. Trade in Goods and Services,
  2. Rules of Origin,
  3. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT),
  4. Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures,
  5. Dispute Settlement,
  6. Movement of Natural Persons,
  7. Customs Procedures,
  8. Telecom, Pharmaceutical products, and Cooperation in other Areas.
• Benefits - ECTA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries.
• It covers almost all the tariff lines dealt in by India and Australia.
• India will benefit from preferential market access provided by Australia on 100% of its tariff lines.
• On the other hand, India will be offering preferential access to Australia on over 70% of its tariff lines, including lines of export interest to Australia which are primarily raw materials and intermediaries.
• As regards trade in services, Australia has offered wide ranging commitments in around 135 sub sectors and Most Favoured Nation (MFN) in 120 sub sectors.
• On the other hand, India has offered market access to Australia in around 103 sub-sectors and Most Favoured Nation in 31 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors.
• Both sides have also agreed to a separate Annex on Pharmaceutical products under this agreement, which will enable fast track approval for patented, generic and biosimilar medicines.

Economic Relationship

• Australia is the 17th largest trading partner of India and India is Australia’s 9th largest trading partner.
• India-Australia bilateral trade for both merchandise and services is valued at US$ 27.5 billion in 2021.
• India’s merchandise exports to Australia grew 135% between 2019 and 2021.
• India’s exports consist primarily of a broad-based basket largely of finished products and were US$ 6.9 billion in 2021.
• India’s merchandise imports from Australia were US$ 15.1 billion in 2021, consisting largely of raw materials, minerals and intermediate goods.
• India and Australia are partners in the trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) arrangement along with Japan which seeks to enhance the resilience of supply chains in the Indo-Pacific Region.
• Further, India and Australia are also members of the recently formed Quad, also comprising US, and Japan, to further enhance cooperation and develop partnership across several issues of common concerns.
• Related Links - Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812592
2. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812730
3. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/tiruppur-exporters-bullish-on-indaus-ecta-agreement-with-australia/article65284246.ece