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  • Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

     

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the novel Coronavirus infection a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). In the past decade, WHO has declared public health emergencies for outbreaks including swine flu, polio and Ebola.

    What is PHEIC?

    Definition: Under the International Health Regulations (IHR), a public health emergency is defined as “an extraordinary event which is determined, as provided in these Regulations: to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease; and to potentially require a coordinated international response”.

    What criteria does the WHO follow to declare PHEIC?

    • PHEIC is declared in the event of some “serious public health events” that may endanger international public health.
    • The responsibility of declaring an event as an emergency lies with the Director-General of the WHO and requires the convening of a committee of members.

    Implications of a PHEIC being declared

    • There are some implications of declaring a PHEIC for the host country, which in the case of the coronavirus is China.
    • Declaring a PHEIC may lead to restrictions on travel and trade.
    • However, several countries have already issued advisories to their citizens to avoid travelling to China, while others are airlifting their citizens from it.

  • IMO Sulphur regulations for Shipping

    The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the shipping agency of the United Nations issued new rules aiming to reduce sulphur emissions, due to which ships are opting for newer blends of fuels.

    What do the new IMO rules say?

    • The IMO has banned ships from using fuels with sulphur content above 0.5 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent previously.
    • Sulphur oxides (SOx), which are formed after combustion in engines, are known to cause respiratory symptoms and lung disease, while also leading to acid rain.
    • The new regulations, called IMO 2020, have been regarded as the biggest shake up for the oil and shipping industries in decades. It affects more than 50,000 merchant ships worldwide.
    • The new limits are monitored and enforced by national authorities of countries that are members of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI.

    Cleaner options

    • Under the new policy, only ships fitted with sulphur-cleaning devices, known as scrubbers, are allowed to continue burning high-sulphur fuel.
    • Alternatively, Ships can opt for cleaner fuels, such as marine gasoil (MGO) and very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).
    • Of the two cleaner fuels, ship-owners were expected to opt for MGO, which is made exclusively from distillates, and has low sulphur content.
    • However, many are reportedly choosing VLSFO, which has better calorific properties and other technical advantages.

    Issues with the rule

    • There are complaints against VLSFO as well, as testing companies have claimed that high sediment formation due to the fuel’s use could damage vessel engines.
    • VLSFO, with 0.5 per cent sulphur content, can contain a large percentage of aromatic compounds, thus having a direct impact on black carbon emissions.
    • Black carbon, which is produced due to the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, contributes to climate change.

  • Plantation Corporation of India

    The Union government is likely to announce the setting up of a Plantation Corporation of India in the upcoming budget.

    Plantation Corporation of India

    • The PCI will subsume all afforestation-related schemes currently underway in India including the Green India Mission, National Afforestation Programme and compensatory afforestation.
    • The corporation will use Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) money to undertake the plantations and investment will also come from the global pension fund.
    • CAF is a huge corpus of money collected from projects proponents for diverting forest land to be used for non-forestry activity.

    Issues with PCI

    • Critics have raised concerns over the move’s impact on the federal structure of forest governance in the country.
    • While forests are a concurrent subject, land-related issues are the responsibility of the states.

  • [pib] Exercise SAMPRITI-IX

    As part of the ongoing Indo-Bangladesh defence cooperation, a joint military training exercise SAMPRITI-IX is being conducted in Meghalaya.

    Exercise SAMPRITI

    • It is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh and will be the ninth edition of the exercise which is hosted alternately by both countries.
    • During the joint military exercise SAMPRITI-IX, a Command Post Exercise (CPX) and a Field Training Exercise (FTX) will be conducted.
    • For both the CPX and FTX, a scenario where both nations are working together in a Counter-Terrorism environment will be simulated under the UN Charter.
    • The FTX curriculum is progressively planned where the participants will initially get familiar with each other’s organizational structure and tactical drills.
    • The training will culminate with a final validation exercise in which troops of both armies will jointly practice a Counter Terrorist Operation in a controlled and simulated environment.

  • India’s first ‘fruit train’

     

    A ‘fruit train’, said to be the first of its kind in India, was flagged off from Tadipatri Railway Station in Anantapur district of Andhra.

    About the fruit train

    • This is the first time in India that an entire train is being sent to the gateway port (JNPT) for export.
    • This helps save both time and fuel as 150 trucks would have been required to send a consignment of this size by road to JNPT, which is over 900 km away, before the temperature-controlled containers are loaded on ships.
    • The bananas are being exported under the brand name ‘Happy Bananas’.
    • Farmers from Putlur region in Anantapur and Pulivendula in Kadapa district are exporting ‘Green Cavendish’ bananas to many international markets.

  • 31st January 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 353]

  • Get ready for the upcoming S&T and Environment Advanced Prelims Test on 1st February – sample questions highlighting our methodology

    Click here to enrol for the Prime Prelims TS

    Dear students,

    31st May 2020 is the D-day for all civil service aspirants.

    “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

    This quote by Abraham Lincoln clearly sums up how one should prepare for that day. So before entering the battlefield alone should have enough practice. Our Prime Prelims Test series which shall enrich you to acquaint yourself with the pattern of CSE-2020, assess your abilities, rectify your mistakes and make you confident to appear on the examination day.

    Our Prime Prelims Test Series follows the same approach as that adopted by UPSC. Our team of experts is quite enriched with the UPSC pattern and focal point of the questions and hence creates more chances for the aspirants to crack civil service examination by appearing our Test Series.

    The key philosophy of our prelims TS is Evidence-based question making: The 3600 questions you face in our mocks have their relevance established in UPSC’s trend analysis. We focus on themes that are important as per UPSC so that we maximize your chances of questions overlap with the actual UPSC Prelims.

    Nothing speaks more than the facts itself rather than a mere jargon. Here is a list of 5 sample questions from the upcoming test which will help you in identifying the standards and approach we follow. (you can skip this if you want to attempt these directly in the test). 

    Noone but only you can assess how it will help you in being the top percentile of aspirants. You have to practice ruthlessly and civils Daily provides you with a platform to hone your skills.

    Q1. There is a fall in boiling points of water and other liquids at hills, because:

    a. of high pressure at mountainous regions, the liquid experiences less downward force pushing down on it from above.

    b. Boiling point of water changes with altitude because atmospheric pressure changes with altitude.

    c. Boiling point of water changes with altitude because of temperature inversion.

    d. At mountainous regions, water molecules have a tough time escaping off the surface when the air pressure above them is less.

     

    Q2. Big data is a term that describes the large volume of data – both structured and unstructured. Which of the following are applications of Big data?

    1. Better understanding and targeting customers by companies.

    2. Tracking and analyzing the supply chain delivery routes.

    3. Used in healthcare to find new cures for cancer.

    4. Security and law and order management.

    Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

    a. 1 and 2 only

    b. 3 and 4 only

    c. 1, 3 and 4 only

    d. All of them

     

    Q3. In recent times, there is a rise in the exploration works of the shale gas. Which of the following statements are correct regarding ‘Shale Gas’?

    1. It is predominantly Methane trapped in Shale rock formations.

    2. The source of formation of shale gas is somewhere else and it travels through the permeable shale rocks and gets trapped in the pores.

    3. Hydraulic Fracturing is the technique used for extraction of Shale gas.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct?

    a. 1 only

    b. 2 and 3 only

    c. 1 and 3 only

    d. All of them

     

    Q4. Which of the following statements are correct regarding different generations of biofuels?

    1. First-generation biofuels are made from feedstocks that can also be consumed as human food.

    2. Second-generation fuels are produced from sustainable feedstock but these feedstocks are not normally used for human consumption.

    3. Third generation fuels are obtained from algae.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct?

    a. 1 only

    b. 2 and 3 only

    c. 1 and 3 only

    d. All of them

     

    Q5. With regards to the Nitrogen Cycle, the conversion of ammonia into nitrates takes place in which of these process?

    a. Nitrification

    b. Denitrification

    c. Ammonofication

    d. None of the above

  • *URGENT – Mock Interviews start Tomorrow. Register Now.

    *URGENT – Mock Interviews start Tomorrow. Register Now.

    We hope your preparation for UPSC interviews is right on track. Dates for Mock Interviews have been finalized, the first slot will have their mock interviews on 1st Feb and 2nd Feb 2020.
     
    Date: 1st – 2nd Feb 2020 (Book your slot by filling the form)
    Time: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 
    Venue: Civilsdaily HQ, 1LGF, Apsara Arcade, Karol Bagh
    Interview slots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
    Panel for Mock Interviews:
    1. Shri V.P. Singh, IRPS
    2. Dr. Makhan Saikia, Senior Editor, The Pioneer
    3. Mr. Rakesh Dalal, Core Faculty, Civilsdaily
    4. Mrs.Aditi Gupta, Corporate Leadership Specialist
    5. Mr. Himanshu, Economist, JNU, PMEAC, Parliament of India
    Tentative panel members: Shri Harsh V. Pant (Observer Research Foundation), Shri SN Tripathi, IAS (Director IIPA), Shri Yogesh Narain (Retd. Defence Secretary), Shri Dipankar Gupta (Sociologist) and others.
    You all are supposed to submit your DAFs and selfie videos answering four questions provided to you. These will form the basis for mock interviews, DAF analysis, and personalized DAF-based questionnaire.

    Get your interview scheduled by registering on the following link:

    Note- For any query/sending DAFs and videos reach out to atul@civilsdaily.com

  • [op-ed of the day] Time to prioritise education and health

    Context

    The policy currently being pursued is intended primarily to incentivise potential investors while social objectives and help in indigenisation are being jettisoned.

    Call for more liberalisation and its possible impacts

    • What reforms are asked for?
      • Reforms such as labour market liberalisation and removal of constraints on the acquisition of land for industrial purposes are demanded.
    • What could be their possible impacts?
      • The negative impact such reform measures are likely to have on the incomes, living conditions and the economic security of the workers and the agricultural class.
      • Counterproductive labour policy: The policy of freedom of hiring and firing of labour will be counterproductive as it would squeeze demand further in a situation of huge demand deficit.

    Social sector and demand

    • Neglect of human infrastructure: While talks of economic revival focus on infrastructure there is little talk of investment in human infrastructure, particularly in education and 
      • Conditional expenditure: On the contrary, the expenditure in social sectors is made conditional upon a higher rate of growth. 
      • The flawed premise of long term impact: Most mainstream economists believe that public expenditure in social sectors can only have a long- term impact on growth. Which is not entirely correct.
    • The benefit of investment in human infrastructure:
      • Increases demand in short-run: Investment in social sectors results in creating demand in the short run by way of opening avenues for large-scale employment.
      • Competitiveness and sustainability: It imparts competitiveness and sustainability to the Indian economy in the medium and long run.
    • Example of RTE, teacher employment and demand creation
      • The recruitment of 5.7 million additional teachers over a period of, say, five years, can create huge scale demand.
      • And, this is only one factor essential for universalising quality school education.
      • There is also a large gap between the requirement of infrastructure in the schools and that available and built recently.
      • The gap between requirement and availability: According to government data, only 12.5% of the schools covered by the RTE Act were compliant with RTE norms.
      • Meeting these norms has the potential of creating employment on a large scale.
    • Importance of health and education
      • Education has a crucial role to play for an individual in gaining employment and retaining employability.

    Conclusion

    The gestation period of projects in social sectors is not as long as it is made out to be. It is, therefore, time for reprioritising education and health in the scheme of development strategy and the allocation of budgetary resources.

     

  • *URGENT-UPSC Interviews Special Session Tomorrow – Tips, tricks and best practices by VP Sir, IRPS

    *URGENT-UPSC Interviews Special Session Tomorrow – Tips, tricks and best practices by VP Sir, IRPS

    Students appearing for interviews make a note.

    A Special session on “UPSC Interview- Tips and Tricks” will be conducted by Shri V.P. Singh (IRPS).

    Date: 31st Jan 2020
    Time: 05:00 p.m to 07:00 pm. (entry closes at 4.45 p.m.)
    Venue: Civilsdaily IAS center
    1 LGF, Apsara Arcade, Karol Bagh, New Delhi

    Here, besides the dos and donts, nuances like interview etiquette, handling uncomfortable situations, etc. will be discussed. Post the session, aspirants can interact with sir and clarify all their interview and DAF-related doubts.

    Sir’s inputs have a proven track record of increasing marks of students. His ability to stress-test candidates in mocks remains unparalleled.

    You should not be missing out on this session.

    Click here to register – https://forms.gle/8Ryh6ZMGCNEJ1j1bA

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