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Type: Prelims Only

  • What is the Service Charge levied by Restaurants on Customers?

    The Centre has called a meeting of restaurant owners over service charge levied by them on customers.

    Why in news?

    • The restaurants are collecting service charges from consumers by default, even though collection of any such charge is voluntary and at the discretion of consumers and not mandatory as per law.

    What are the components of a food bill?

    • A restaurant bill in India comprises food charge (from the menu), with an addition of service charge (anywhere between 5 to 15 per cent) and a 5 per cent GST on this amount (IGST+SGST).
    • This is for all kinds of standalone restaurants.
    • In case a restaurant is located inside a hotel wherein room rate is upwards of Rs 7,500 (mostly in case of five-stars), the GST would be 18 per cent.

    Nature of Service charge

    • While the GST is a mandatory component as per law, the service charge is supposed to be optional.
    • It is the equivalent of what is known as gratuity around the world, or tip, in casual parlance.
    • Most restaurants decide the service charge on their own, and print it at the bottom of the menu with an asterisk.

    Policy measures

    • The Ministry of Consumer Affairs had come out with “Guidelines on Fair Trade Practices Related to Charging of Service Charge from Consumers by Hotels/ Restaurants”.
    • Here it was clearly mentioned that a component of service is inherent in the provision of food and beverages ordered by a customer.
    • Hence the pricing of the product is expected to cover both the goods and service components.
    • It said that the bill “may clearly display that service charge is voluntary, and the service charge column of the bill may be left blank for the customer to fill up before making payment.”

    What do the restaurants say?

    • The levy of service charge by a restaurant is a matter of individual policy to decide if it is to be charged or not.
    • There is no illegality in levying such a charge.
    • Once the customer is made aware of such a charge in advance and then decides to place the order, it becomes an agreement between the parties, and is not an unfair trade practice.
    • GST is also paid on the said charge to the Government.

    Where does the fund go?

    • Restaurants claim that a major chunk of the service charge thus collected goes to the staff, while the rest goes towards a welfare fund to help them out during good and bad times.
    • It’s a default billing option, even as customers can choose not to pay it if they don’t want to.
    • Of course, they are paid the salaries but the service charge works as an incentive for them.
    • Restaurateurs also say that patrons can decide not to pay the charge and tip the server directly, but in this case, the backroom staff doesn’t get anything.
    • A service charge ensures all staff members are rewarded evenly.

    What is the issue then?

    • The issue is that almost all restaurants have put service charge (fixed at their own accord) as a default billing option.
    • And if a consumer is aware that it is not compulsory and wants it removed or wants to tip the server directly, the onus is on them to convince the management why they don’t want to pay it.
    • The department says they received several complaints saying it leads to public embarrassment and spoils the dining experience since at the end of it, they either pay the charge quietly and exit the place feeling cheated, or have to try hard to get it removed.
    • Also, there is no transparency as to where this charge goes.
    • The officials also say that collecting service charge on their own and paying GST on it to the government doesn’t make it authorised.

    Problems faced by customers

    • It is this component which has come under dispute from time to time, with consumers arguing they are not bound to pay it.
    • It also said that hotels and restaurants charging tips from customers without their express consent in the name of service charges amounts to unfair trade practice.

     

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  • Qutub Minar not a Place of Worship: ASI

    The Qutub Minar complex is not a place of worship and its character cannot be changed now, the Archaeological Survey of India submitted in a Delhi Court while opposing a plea challenging the dismissal of a civil suit seeking “restoration” of temples on the premises.

    What is the case?

    • The original suit claimed that 27 temples were demolished to build the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque at the Qutub Minar complex.
    • This pleas was dismissed last year under the provisions of Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
    • The Additional District Judge (ADJ) has now reserved the order.
    • The petitioner said that the dismissal of the original suit based on the 1991 Act was wrong.
    • The Qutub Minar complex comes under the purview of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act of 1958.

    Why in news now?

    • The ASI now submitted that the Qutub Minar complex was not a place of worship when it was first notified as a protected monument in 1914.
    • The ASI, explained that the character of a monument is decided on the date when it comes under protection.

    About Qutub Minar

    • The Qutub Minar is a minaret and “victory tower” that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs.
    • It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi.
    • It can be compared to the 62-metre all-brick Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, of c. 1190, which was constructed a decade or so before the probable start of the Delhi tower.
    • The surfaces of both are elaborately decorated with inscriptions and geometric patterns.
    • The Qutb Minar has a shaft that is fluted with “superb stalactite bracketing under the balconies” at the top of each stage.

    Its construction

    • The Qutb Minar was built over the ruins of the Lal Kot, the citadel of Dhillika.
    • Qutub Minar was begun after the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, which was started around 1192 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate.
    • It is usually thought that the tower is named for Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who began it.
    • It is also possible that it is named after Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki a 13th-century sufi saint, because Shamsuddin Iltutmish was a devotee of his.
    • Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, to the north-east of the Minar was built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in A.D. 1198.
    • It consists of a rectangular courtyard enclosed by cloisters, erected with the carved columns and architectural members of 27 Jain and Hindu temples, which were demolished by Qutub-ud-Din.
    • This is recorded in his inscription on the main eastern entrance.

    Back2Basics:

    What is the Places of Worship Act?

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  • Who was Prithviraj Chauhan?

    There is controversy around a new film where some communities of Rajasthan are laying claim over the 12th century emperor Prithviraj Chauhan.

    Prithviraj Chauhan

    • Prithviraj Chauhan (1177–1192 CE) popularly known as a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present-day Rajasthan.
    • Ascending the throne as a minor in 1177 CE, Prithviraj inherited a kingdom which stretched from Thanesar in the north to Jahazpur (Mewar) in the south.

    His legend

    • He aimed to expand by military actions against neighbouring kingdoms, most notably defeating the Chandela’s.
    • Prithviraj unified several Rajput clans and defeated the Ghurid army led by Muhammad Ghori near Taraori in 1191 AD.
    • However, in 1192 CE, Ghori returned with an army of Turkish mounted archers and defeated the Rajput army on the same battlefield.
    • Prithviraj fled the battlefield, but was captured near Sirsa and executed.
    • His defeat at Tarain is seen as a landmark event in the Islamic conquest of India, and has been described in several semi-legendary accounts, most notably the Prithviraj Raso.

    Prithviraj in literary works

    • The image of Prithviraj as a fearless and skilled warrior that is now etched in the folk imagination can be traced back to his depiction in ‘Prithviraj Raso’.
    • This was a poem in Brajbhasha attributed to Chand Bardai, which is thought to have been composed in the 16th century.
    • James Mill’s ‘The History of British India’ (1817) categorized Indian history into the Hindu, Muhammadan and British periods.
    • In this formulation, Prithviraj Chauhan would be the last ruler of ‘Hindu’ India.

    Why is he being revived?

    • To a vocal section of the Hindu right, Prithviraj Chauhan appears as “the last Hindu emperor” of India who made a valiant attempt to stop the radical invaders.
    • In the popular imagination, he is the heroic figure who symbolises the exalted ideals of patriotism and national pride.
    • However the historical evidence demonstrates rather different ways in which Prithviraj has been seen over the ages.

     

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  • What is Pravaig Field Pack?

    A Bengaluru-based venture has produced a rugged tactical battery that it is now planning to sell to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces in Europe.

    Pravaig Field Pack

    • It is a heavy-duty power bank that is portable and weighs 14 kilograms.
    • It is of great utility to the digitally connected modern military and Special Forces personnel who have to operate in high-risk zones while using gadgets that require constant power back-up.
    • These batteries are designed, engineered and made in India.
    • The field pack can be used to charge a MacBook 60 times.

    Significance of Pravaig

    • This supply marks a major shift in the defense landscape of India — a tipping point in the reversal of India’s high technology defense industry, from users to developers, from importers to exporters.
    • The field pack can be used to energize a military person’s field duties and it can be used to deploy remote sensors.
    • A powerful tactical battery can be used even to operate larger military equipment such as drones and it can even help coordinate tactical operations which involve multiple weapons systems.

     

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  • What is ‘Storage Gain’ in Wheat?

    Punjab’s state procurement agencies (SPAs) are seeking a waiver of ‘storage gain’.

    What is ‘storage gain’ in wheat?

    • Wheat, considered a ‘living grain’, tends to gain some weight during storage.
    • This is known as ‘storage gain’ and it mostly happens due to absorption of moisture.
    • There are three parts of the grain — bran (outer layer rich in fibre), germ (inner layer rich in nutrients) and endosperm (bulk of the kernel which contains minerals and vitamins).
    • The moisture is mostly absorbed by the endosperm.

    Who compensates whom for ‘storage gain’?

    • State procurement agencies, which purchase and store wheat at their facilities, are required to give one kg wheat extra per quintal to the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
    • While 20% of wheat, procured by the FCI and the SPAs, is moved immediately after procurement.
    • It is usually on the remaining 80%, which is moved out after July 1 every year that storage gain has to be accounted for due to longer storage duration.

     

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  • Project WARDEC: India’s upcoming AI-powered Wargame Centre

    The Army Training Command signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gandhinagar-based Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) to develop a ‘Wargame Research and Development Centre (WARDEC)’ in New Delhi.

    What is Project WARDEC?

    • The project ‘WARDEC’ will be a first-of-its-kind simulation-based training centre in India that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to design virtual reality war-games.
    • The Wargame Research and Development Centre will be used by the Army to train its soldiers and test their strategies through “metaverse-enabled gameplay”.
    • The wargame models will be designed to prepare for wars as well as counter-terror and counter-insurgency operations.

    Where will the centre come up and when?

    • The centre will come up in a military zone in New Delhi, confirmed RRU officials privy to the development.
    • The RRU will join hands with Tech Mahindra to develop the centre in the coming three to four months.
    • The RRU, an institute under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), specialises in national security and policing.
    • Located in Gandhinagar’s Lavad village, it is an “institute of national importance” – a status granted to it by an Act of Parliament.

    How will these simulation exercises play out?

    • Soldiers will test their skills in the metaverse where their surroundings will be simulated using a combination of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
    • In metaverse, the players will get a realistic experience of the actual situation.
    • If a weapon weighing 5 kg drops or the air pressure falls, they will feel it like anyone would in a live situation, real-time.
    • The game would play out player versus player, player versus computer or even computer versus computer.

    How will the centre help the Army?

    • The Army intends to use the war-game centre to train its officers in military strategies.
    • Indian Army will provide data to set the backdrop of the gameplay, so that participants get a realistic experience.
    • In Army, it is often said that the enemy can ambush you from 361 directions, where 360 sides are around the soldier, and one is above in case there is an airdrop.
    • So, wargame simulation helps the Army think of all possible scenarios.

    What promise does AI-based wargame simulation hold?

    • Apart from the armed forces, the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP and SSB can also use the metaverse-enabled simulation exercises for better training.
    • The use of AI can provide a totally immersive training experience as it can simulate a battlefield close to reality and map several eventualities in the probable event of a war.

    How many countries use such wargaming drills?

    • Since the 9/11 attacks, use of information technology-enabled wargaming is preferred by several countries like the US, Israel, the UK to prepare for possibilities in case of terror attacks or war.
    • In March 2014, several world leaders, including former German chancellor Angela Merkel, former US president Barack Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping had played a war simulation game.
    • It was during the Hague Summit about how to react in case of a nuclear attack.
    • In that case, the target of the nuclear attack was a fictional country named Brinia.

     

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  • What is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?

    A team of scientists from Australia have found that babies at risk of the mysterious Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, generally have low levels of an enzyme called butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in their blood.

    What is SIDS?

    • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome refers to the sudden and unexpected death of an otherwise healthy infant under the age of one, generally while they are sleeping.
    • Most SIDS-related deaths occur in infants between the age of 1-4 months.
    • According to the NHS website, parents can reduce the risk of SIDS by not smoking while pregnant or after the baby is born and ensuring that the baby is placed on their back when they sleep.
    • Some health experts have said that it is associated with issues in the part of an infant’s brain that controls breathing and waking up.

    Prevalence of SIDS

    • SIDS, also known as ‘cot death’, has claimed the lives of thousands of children across the West.
    • US estimates that about 3,400 babies die suddenly and unexpectedly every year.
    • Meanwhile, the United Kingdom reports about 200 such deaths annually.

    What does the new study say?

    • The study assessed whether there was something inherently different in babies that succumbed to SIDS.
    • The researchers compared dried blood samples from 655 healthy babies, 26 babies who died due to SIDS and 41 babies who died of other causes.
    • The team found that around nine of ten babies who died from SIDS had lower levels of BChE enzymes than the babies in the other two groups.

    What is the BChE (Butyrylcholinesterase) enzyme responsible for?

    • These enzymes are responsible for sending out signals that make a baby wake up, turn her head, or gasp for breath.
    • It is part of the autonomic system, and controls function like blood pressure and breathing.

     

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  • Buddhist heritage in Gujarat

    Prime Minister in Lumbini, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, said that his birthplace Vadnagar in Gujarat’s Mehsana district had been a great centre for Buddhist learning centuries ago.

    Vadnagar’s ties with Buddhism

    • In 2014, the excavation work has brought up Buddhist relics and around 20,000 artefacts, some dating back to the 2nd century.
    • Among these are an elliptical structure and a circular stupa along with a square memorial stupa of 2×2 metres and 130 centimetres in height with a wall enclosure.
    • It is like a platform which has a chamber in the centre that resembles a pradakshina path.
    • Further, bowls said to be used by monks have been found during the excavations, which have a terracotta sealing with inscriptions of namassarvagyaya and a face-shaped pendant with tritatva symbol.
    • Sacred relics of the Buddha were even found in Devni Mori in Aravalli district of Gujarat.

    In travellers record

    • Vadnagar is mentioned often in the Puranas and even in the travelogue of the great Chinese traveler, Hiuen Tsang (7th century), as a rich and flourishing town.
    • He is believed to have visited the state in 641 AD.
    • It adds how some of the names attributed to Vadnagar in history are Chamatkarpur, Anandpur, Snehpur and Vimalpur.
    • It also had snippets about other Buddhist heritage sites in Gujarat, such as Junagadh, Kutch and Bharuch.

    Back2Basics: Places associated with Buddha

    These are three of the few holiest sites in Buddhism:

    1. Bodh Gaya in Bihar, the site of the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha under a tree and top site in the list of world heritage sites in India.
    2. Kesaria stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Kesariya, located at a distance of 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Patna, in the Champaran (east) district of Bihar, India. The first construction of the Stupa is dated to the 3rd century BCE. Kesariya Stupa has a circumference of almost 400 feet (120 m) and raises to a height of about 104 feet (32 m).
    3. Nalanda was a renowned Buddhist University in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar) in India.Buddhist texts describe it as a Mahavihara, a revered Buddhist monastery.
    4. Sarnath near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, the site of the first sermon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), where Buddha taught about the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.
    5. Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, the site of the Buddha’s parinirvana and home of many famous meditation & prayer offering sites in India.

     

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  • Explained: Repo Rate in India

    Earlier this month, the RBI, in a surprise move decided unanimously to raise the “policy repo rate by 40 basis points to 4.40%, with immediate effect”.

    What is the Repo Rate?

    • The repo rate is one of several direct and indirect instruments that are used by the RBI for implementing monetary policy.
    • Specifically, the RBI defines the repo rate as the fixed interest rate at which it provides overnight liquidity to banks against the collateral of government and other approved securities under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF).
    • In other words, when banks have short-term requirements for funds, they can place government securities that they hold with the central bank and borrow money against these securities at the repo rate.
    • Since this is the rate of interest that the RBI charges commercial banks such as SBI and ICICI Bank when it lends them money, it serves as a key benchmark for the lenders to in turn price the loans they offer to their borrowers.

    Why is the repo rate such a crucial monetary tool?

    • According to Investopedia, when government central banks repurchase securities from commercial lenders, they do so at a discounted rate that is known as the repo rate.
    • The repo rate system allows central banks to control the money supply within economies by increasing or decreasing the availability of funds.

    How does the repo rate work?

    • Besides the direct loan pricing relationship, the repo rate also functions as a monetary tool by helping to regulate the availability of liquidity or funds in the banking system.
    • For instance, when the repo rate is decreased, banks may find an incentive to sell securities back to the government in return for cash.
    • This increases the money supply available to the general economy.
    • Conversely, when the repo rate is increased, lenders would end up thinking twice before borrowing from the central bank at the repo window thus, reducing the availability of money supply in the economy.
    • Since inflation is caused by more money chasing the same quantity of goods and services available in an economy, central banks tend to target regulation of money supply as a means to slow inflation.

    What impact can a repo rate change have on inflation?

    • Inflation can broadly be: mainly demand driven price gains, or a result of supply side factors.
    • This in turn push up the costs of inputs used by producers of goods and providers of services.
    • It is thus spurring inflation, or most often caused by a combination of both demand and supply side pressures.
    • Changes to the repo rate to influence interest rates and the availability of money supply primarily work only on the demand side.
    • It makes credit more expensive and savings more attractive and therefore dissuading consumption.
    • However, they do little to address the supply side factors, be it the high price of commodities such as crude oil or metals or imported food items such as edible oils.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.If the RBI decides to adopt an expansionist monetary policy, which of the following would it not do?

    1. Cut and optimize the Statutory Liquidity Ratio
    2. Increase the Marginal Standing Facility Rate
    3. Cut the Bank Rate and Repo Rate

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”dqr429v2pr” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

     

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  • RNA granules to treat neurodegenerative disorders

    Researchers at IISc Bangalore have identified a protein in yeast cells that dissolves RNA-protein complexes, also known as RNA granules.

    What is mRNA?

    • Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a single-stranded RNA (Ribo Nucleic Acid) molecule that is complementary to one of the DNA strands of a gene.
    • The mRNA is an RNA version of the gene that leaves the cell nucleus and moves to the cytoplasm where proteins are made.
    • During protein synthesis, an organelle called a ribosome moves along the mRNA, reads its base sequence, and uses the genetic code to translate each three-base triplet, or codon, into its corresponding amino acid.

    What are RNA granules?

    • Inside the cytoplasm of any cell there are structures made of messenger RNA (mRNA) and proteins known as RNA granules.
    • Unlike other structures in the cell (such as mitochondria), the RNA granules are not covered and confined by a membrane.
    • This makes them highly dynamic in nature, thereby allowing them to constantly exchange components with the surrounding.
    • RNA granules are present in the cytoplasm at low numbers under normal conditions but increase in number and size under stressful conditions including diseases.

    Why are they unique?

    • A defining feature which does not change from one organism to another (conserved) of the RNA granule protein components is the presence of stretches containing repeats of certain amino acids.
    • Such stretches are referred to as low complexity regions.
    • Repeats of arginine (R), glycine (G) and glycine (G) — known as RGG — are an example of low complexity sequence.

    Functions of RNA granules

    • Messenger RNAs are converted to proteins (building blocks of the cell) by the process of translation.
    • RNA granules determine messenger RNA (mRNA) fate by deciding when and how much protein would be produced from mRNA.
    • Protein synthesis is a multi-step and energy-expensive process.
    • Therefore, a common strategy used by cells when it encounters unfavorable conditions is to shut down protein production and conserve energy to deal with a stressful situation.
    • RNA granules help in the process of shutting down protein production.
    • Some RNA granule types (such as Processing bodies or P-bodies) not only regulate protein production but also accomplish degradation and elimination of the mRNAs, which in turn helps in reducing protein production.

    What is the recent study?

    • Researchers concluded that low complexity sequences which normally promote granule formation, in this case promote the disintegration of RNA granules in yeast cells.
    • They observed that the identified protein Sbp1 is specific for dissolving P-bodies and not stress granules which are related RNA granule type also present in the cytoplasm.

    Significance of the study

    • This study has highlighted the potential of amino acid repeats (RGG) as a therapeutic intervention.
    • The study may help analyze the effect of repeat sequences in genetically engineered mice that accumulate insoluble pathological aggregates in brain cells.
    • This could possibly help in treating neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

     

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