Prelim Bits 19-07-2019

 Whip in Polity

• A Whip is a ‘written order’ which demands party members to be present in Parliament or a state assembly if an important vote is scheduled.
• It also asks them to vote in a particular way.
• A senior member is appointed a ‘Chief Whip’ & is assisted by additional Whips.
• This is not a constitutional post.
• There are three types of whips,

1. One-line whip -  It is underlined once.

• It is to inform its members of an important vote in the assembly.
• It allows the legislators to abstain from voting

2. Two-line whip - It is underlined twice.  

• It directs its members to be present during the vote.
• Abstention from voting invites more scrutiny from party.

3. Three-line whip – It is underlined thrice.

• It is employed on important occasions like  no-confidence motion.
• Party members has to oblige to this whip.

• Defying a ‘three-line whip’ can lead to expulsion of the member from the party.
• Under “The anti-defection law” (X Schedule), the Speaker of the House can disqualify such a defying member.
• The only exception is when at least two-thirds of a party legislators are in favour of the merger with another party.
• In the UK, defying the whip can lose membership of the party, but not the House seats.
• In the US, politicians have considerably more freedom to diverge from the party line and vote according to their own.
• The influence of the whip in US is weaker than in the UK system.

Government Bond

• It is a debt security issued by a government to support government spending.
• It is also called ‘Government securities’ or ‘G-secs’.
• It is the government’s vehicle to borrow from the public.
• The bonds can pay periodic interest payments called ‘Coupon payments’.
• It is a tradeable instrument, issued by the central government or state governments.
• They are considered as low-risk investments since the issuing government backs them.
• Their prices fluctuate sharply in the secondary markets, as it is determined by demand and supply of the securities.
• Every G-sec has a ‘face value’ and a ‘coupon payment’(interest).
  • e.g The face value of a 10-year G-sec is Rs 100, and its coupon payment is Rs 5.
  • The government will pay the buyer Rs 5 every year for the next 10 years.
  • It will pay back their Rs 100 at the end of the tenure(10yr).
• The price is influenced by the level and changes in interest rates and other macro-economic factors such as inflation.
  • e.g If the prevailing interest rate is 4% and the government announces a bond with a yield of 5%,

• Then a lot of people will rush to buy such a bond to earn a higher interest rate.
• This increased demand will start pushing up bond prices, even as the yields fall.

• The yields of G-secs have been falling, and are now at the lowest level.
• The fall is after the announcement in the Budget that the government would limit its borrowing.

ZED Scheme

• “Zero Defect and Zero Effect”(ZED) manufacturing is a scheme of ‘Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises’(MSME).

• It is an integrated and comprehensive certification system that will account for productivity, quality etc.
• Two components in ‘ZED’ culture,

1. Zero Defect - Zero non-conformance/non-compliance & Zero waste
2. Zero Effect - Zero air pollution/liquid discharge/solid waste & Zero wastage of natural resources

• It will enable our industry to build reputation in the global marketplace.
• The objectives of the scheme are,

1. Develop an Ecosystem for Zero Defect Manufacturing.
2. Promote adaptation of Quality tools and Energy Efficient manufacturing.
3. Enable MSMEs for manufacturing of quality products.
4. Encourage MSMEs to constantly upgrade their quality standards.
5. To adopt Zero Defect production processes, without impacting the environment.
6. Support ‘Make in India’ campaign.

• There are 50 parameters for ZED rating and additional 25 parameters for ZED Defence rating.
• The MSMEs are provided financial assistance for the activities to be carried out for ZED certification.
• The Rating will be based on the weighted average level and it will be valid for four years.
• ‘Quality Council of India’(QCI) is the National Monitoring & Implementing Unit (NMIU) for implementation of ZED.   
• The surveillance audit will be carried out by QCI.

• The benefits for ZED rated MSMEs

1. 0.5% interest rate on the concession on loans.
2. 50% concession in processing fee.
3. Government provides Rs.25 lakhs for adopting technology,
4. Rs.10 lakh for domestic patent and Rs.20 lakhs for international patent registration.
5. Rs. 5 lakhs for purchase of testing equipment.
6. Rs.10 lakhs for ZED certification and handholding

• This will address the quality and ecological needs of customers, society, employees, regulators, and investors.

Sagar Maitri Mission-2

• It is a unique initiative of DRDO which aligns with the objective of  “Safety And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)”.
• Marine & Allied Interdisciplinary Training and Research Initiative (MAITRI) is the specific scientific component of DRDO.
• It is to promote greater scientific interaction especially in ocean research among ‘Indian Ocean Rim’ (IOR) countries.
• INS Sagardhwani, will embarks on a two-month long mission.
• The mission commemorates the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of India’s lone research ship INS Kistna’s mission.
• INS Sagardhwani will revisit the selected tracks of INS Kistna.
• The prime objectives of the mission are,

1. data collection from the entire North Indian Ocean,
2. focussing on the the Andaman Sea and adjoining seas and
3. establishing long-term collaboration with IOR countries in the field of ocean research and development.

• It will promote closer co-operation in socio-economic aspects with IOR countries.
• The IOR countries, includes Oman, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Myanmar.

INS Sagardhwani

• It is the Oceanographic research vessel of DRDO.
• It is maintained and operated by the Indian Navy.
• It is a ‘Marine Acoustic Research Ship’ (MARS) designed and developed by ‘Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory’ (NPOL), Kochi.
•  NPOL is a premier systems laboratory of DRDO.
• The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipments like the latest wave height measuring radars, marine radio etc.
• It is exclusively used for the scientific and research programmes of NPOL.

Source: PIB, The Indian Express