UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 09-09-2020

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

• The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is an annual prestigious award named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
• It is conferred every year by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust since 1986.
• It consists of a citation and a monetary award of Rs. 25 lakh.
• The award recognizes creative efforts by individuals/organizations working towards:

1. Creating new international economic order,
2. Promoting international peace & development,
3. Ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity and enlarging the scope of freedom.

• Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 has been awarded to David Attenborough an English broadcaster and natural historian.
• He is best known for writing and presenting the BBC Natural History Unit.
• He has worked to make aware about the need to- preserve and protect biodiversity of the planet, to live in a sustainable and harmonious way with all life.

Some of the Past recipients of this award include

1. Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of Soviet Union (1987);
2. UNICEF (1989)
3. Jimmy Carter, former president of the US (1997)
4. UN and its secretary-general Kofi Annan (2003)
5. Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany (2013)
6. Indian Space Research Organization (2014)

Household Social Consumption Report

• Recently, the report on ‘Household Social Consumption: Education in India has been released.
• It is a part of 75th round of National Sample Survey, which includes data from July 2017 to June 2018’.
• It is based on the National Statistical Office (NSO) survey and provides for state-wise detail of literacy rate among the persons aged seven years and above.
• The report coincides with the International Literacy Day which is celebrated on 8th September every year.
• The report provides for state-wise detail of literacy rate among the persons aged seven years and above.
• Highlights of the report are as follows

1. India’s Overall Literacy Rate stands at 77.7% in which literacy rate at Urban Areas stood at 87.7% and rural areas at 73.5%.
2. With 96.2 % literacy, Kerala has once again emerged as the most literate state in the country.
3. While Andhra Pradesh featured at the bottom with a rate of 66.4 %.
4. After Kerala, Delhi has the best literacy rate at 88.7 %, followed by Uttarkhand’s 87.6 %, Himachal Pradesh’s 86.6 % and Assam’s at 85.9 %.
5. The male literacy rate (84.7%) is higher than the female literacy rate (70.3%) among all states with a considerable gap in the worst-performing states.
6. Nearly 4 % of rural households and 23 % of urban household possessed computers.
7. Among persons of age 15-29 years, nearly 56% in urban areas and 24% in rural areas were able to operate a computer.
8. In the same age group, nearly 25% in rural areas and 58% in urban areas reported the use of the internet

International Literacy Day 2020

• The importance of literacy was first observed at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) General conference in 1966.
• First International Literacy Day was celebrated on 8th September 1967 and the tradition has been held annually since then.
• It aims to raise awareness and remind people of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights.
• As per UNESCO, India will achieve universal literacy by 2060.

K-Shaped Recovery

• Economists have found that US is entering into a K shaped economic recovery, which allows workers at the top to prosper while sending working class American into further debt.
• Economists and analysts use letters like "V", "L", and "I" to describe their projections for the length of the recession and potential recovery.
• A "V-shaped" recovery is the most optimistic, as it suggests economic spending and employment will rapidly decline, but quickly pick back up like a "V."
• A "U" shape is similar but suggest the period of unemployment and low economic activity will remain longer than a "V" recovery.
• "L" and "I"-shaped recovery outlooks are much more dire, suggesting the high unemployment and low spending will have other ramifications, like cause debt defaults and overwhelm health systems.
• A "K-shaped" recovery is somewhere between a "V" and "L" — depending on type of employment.
• e.g. In US Industries like technology, retail, and software services have recovered from the industry and begun re-hiring, while the travel, entertainment, hospitality, and food services industries have continued to decline past March levels.

Silicosis

• Silicosis is an interstitial lung disease caused by breathing in tiny bits of silica, a common mineral found in many types of rock and soil.
• Over time, exposure to silica particles causes permanent lung scarring, called pulmonary fibrosis.
• When silica dust enters the lungs, it causes inflammation which over time leads to the development of scar tissue that makes breathing difficult.
• This is a progressive disease that normally takes 10–30 years after first exposure to develop.
• Cigarette smoking adds to the lung damage caused by silicosis.
• Quitting smoking is an important part of managing the disease.
• Complications from silicosis can include tuberculosis, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, autoimmune disorders and kidney disease
• There is no cure for silicosis, but treatment is available, and employers and workers can take steps to prevent it.
• Silica is the most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust. So, any occupation that involves chipping, cutting, drilling, or grinding soil, granite, slate, sandstone, or other natural material can cause exposure to silica dust.
• Some high-risk occupations are:

1. Construction work,
2. Ceramics manufacturing
3. Mining and hydraulic fracturing (fracking)

• National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recently rapped the West Bengal government for inaction and lack of appropriate response in compensating silicosis-affected people in the state.

Development Finance Institution (DFI)

• Union government is planning to set up a new Development Finance Institution (DFI) essentially to fill the gap in long-term finance for infrastructure sectors.
• DFIs provide long-term credit for capital-intensive investments spread over a long period and yielding low rates of return, such as urban infrastructure, mining and heavy industry, and irrigation systems.
• DFIs often lend at low and stable rates of interest to promote long-term investments with considerable social benefits.
• DFIs are also known as Development banks.
• They are different from commercial banks which mobilize short- to medium-term deposits and lend for similar maturities to avoid a maturity mismatch-a potential cause for a bank’s liquidity and solvency.
• It will be used to finance both social and economic infrastructure projects identified under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).
• The DFI can have two types of character:

1. Either it should be promoted by the government.
2. Or it should be given a private sector character with the government restricting its holding to 49%.

• There are clear advantages if the DFI is fully held by the government, the most important being fund-raising.
• The securities from the DFI could be made Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) eligible.
• This will encourage banks to subscribe to the securities issued by DFI and fulfil their SLR obligations.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) requires banks to set aside 18% of their net demand and time liabilities towards SLR.
• Any issue involved in the senior management of the DFI may be hounded by

1. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
2. Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)
3. Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

National Infrastructure Pipeline

• In April 2020, the Government released the final report on NIP for 2019-25, which had drawn up projects totaling investments of Rs. 111 lakh crore across roads, railways, energy and urban sectors.
• The task force on NIP was headed by Atanu Chakraborty (economic affairs secretary).
• NIP will enable a forward outlook on infrastructure projects which will create jobs, improve ease of living, and provide equitable access to infrastructure for all, thereby making growth more inclusive.

Real Mango

• Real Mango software is an illegal software developed for booking Tatkal tickets.
• Real mango software bypasses captcha used while booking tickets.
• It synchronizes bank OTP with help of a mobile app and feeds it to the requisite form automatically.
• The software auto-fills the passenger details and payment details in the forms.
• The software logs in to the IRCTC website through multiple IRCTC Ids.
• Following these steps multiple tickets can be booked.
• And it leads to swift online tickets booking by agents whereas common people may not get the tickets booked on their own.
• Recently Railway Protection Force (RPF) has disrupted the operation of illegal software called “Real Mango” - used for cornering confirmed Railway reservation.
• The information supplied by RPF will help the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) to strengthen security features in the Passenger Reservation System (PRS).

Centre for Railway Information Systems

• The Ministry of Railways set up CRIS as a Society in July 1986.
• It is the Information Technology (IT) wing of Indian Railways.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.
• It performs the functions of Indian Railways such as passenger ticketing, freight operations, train dispatching and control, crew management, e-procurement, etc.

Source: PIB, Business Insider, Indian Express