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Daily News Simplified - DNS

25 10 19

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SL.

NO. TOPICS

THE HINDU

PAGE NO.

1 2 out of 3 wild polio virus strains have been eradicated - WHO 20

2 India climbs 14 notches in ease of doing business ranking –

(Editorial) 08/15

3 AP likely had a flourishing port, 2000 years ago 08

4 India, Pakistan sign Kartarpur pact 01

5 Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) 01

6 Should schools have prayers? – (Interview) 11

Dated: 25. Oct. 2019 DNS Notes - Revision

Title 1. 2 out of 3 wild polio virus strains have been eradicated – WHO (The Hindu Page

20)

Syllabus Prelims: General Science

Mains: GS Paper II – Health

Theme Polio Virus

Highlights According to WHO the wild poliovirus type 3 has been globally eradicated.

About Polio • Polio is caused by Polio Virus type 1,2,3 single stranded RNA virus (Natural or Wild Polio

Virus).

• There are three serotypes of poliovirus, each of which causes poliomyelitis, an infectious disease which mostly affect under-5 children.

• P2 was eradicated globally in 1999.

• Now the WHO has declared P3 to be eradicated. • P1 strain continues to circulate in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

Poliomyelitis • The transmission occurs from person to person mostly through faecal-oral route.

• Once the virus enters the body orally, it reaches the intestines and eventually to blood stream during the process of digestion.

• Once it enters the blood stream it attacks the central nervous system damaging the cells thus causing paralysis, especially in legs.

Polio vaccines: OPV and IPV • Two polio vaccines are used to compact Poliomyelitis. • The first includes an injected dose of inactivated (killed using formalin) polio virus (IPV).

• IPV provides immunity in the blood stream, preventing polio infection from progressing and protects the motor neurons.

• The second type of vaccine is OPV which is a live weakened version of the virus, which produce mutation in the viral genome causing immunity.

Polio in India • Polio was endemic to India till 2011. • Since 2011 there were no reported cases in India and therefore India was declared polio-

free by WHO in 2014. • As of 2012 polio remains endemic in only three countries, Nigeria, Pakistan and

Afghanistan. • Bivalent-OPV has been a part of India’s Universal Immunisation Programme. • Recently IPV is included in Mission Indradhanush

• In order to accelerate the immunisation coverage, the government launched Mission Indradhanush in 2017.

• There are 12 vaccines included in Mission Indradhanush (important for prelims)

• tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and measles,

measles-rubella, rotavirus, Haemophilus influenza type-B and polio.


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Title 2. India climbs 14 notches in ease of doing business ranking - (Editorial) (The Hindu

Page 15)

Syllabus Prelims: Economy

Mains: GS Paper III – Economy

Theme India notches 14 places in Doing Business index 2020

Highlights Abstract

• In a significant improvement, India has notched 14 places in the latest Doing

Business index 2020 from last year’s 77 to 63 this year.

• Besides India is one of the most improved 10 economies in terms of the business

index.

In focus: Doing Business Index

Ease of Doing Business Index: World Bank

Global Competitive Index: World Economic Forum

Global Innovation Index: Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual

Property Organization.

Measuring Ease of doing business

The 10 sub-indices that decides the rankings include

• Starting a business: Procedures, time, cost and minimum capital to open a new

business

• Construction permits: Procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse

• Electricity: Procedures, time and cost required to obtain a permanent electricity

connection

• Registering property: Procedures, time and cost to register commercial real estate

• Getting credit

• Protecting minority investors: Disclosure norms, director liability and ease of

shareholder suits

• Taxes: Number of taxes paid, hours per year spent preparing tax returns and total tax

payable as share of gross profit

• Trading across borders: Documents, cost and time necessary to export and import

• Enforcing contracts

• Resolving insolvency: Bankruptcy proceeding

Note: Employment and Contracting with the government will soon be added.

Best places to do business

1. New Zealand

2. Singapore

3. Hong Kong


4. China

India’s Performance

• As stated, India is one of the most improved 10 economies in terms of the business

index.

• It is significant to note that India has improved from 130 in 2016 to 63 in 2020

report.

• It should be highlighted that the index is measured only for 2 cities including

Mumbai and Delhi. Next year Bengaluru and Kolkata will also be included.

India’s improved ranking is on account of improvement in 4 parameters including

Starting a business

• Notwithstanding improvement, India’s position in this index is at a low of 136.

Dealing with construction permits

Trading across borders

• Ratification of Trade Facilitation Agreement in 2016 that simplified border

management procedures which included e-filing of documents and single-window

customs procedure.

• TFA helped reduce transaction cost of imports and exports and facilitate smooth

movement of goods across borders.

Upgradation of port infrastructure Resolving insolvency:

• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code that provides for a timebound, uniform,

comprehensive insolvency mechanism and necessary infrastructure (a Board and IB

professionals) to settle failed entities including cross-border insolvency cases.

Other issues

• India’s performance is weakest in sub-index ‘Enforcing Contracts’ which is

essentially a measure of dispute resolution mechanism. India ranks 163 in this index.

• The recent passing of Arbitration and Reconciliation Act 2019 is said to improve

India’s ranking in the coming years.


Personal Notes


Title 3. AP likely had a flourishing port, 2000 years ago (The Hindu Page 8)

Syllabus Prelims: History & Culture

Mains: GS Paper I - History & Culture

Theme ASI Excavation

Highlights Context: An excavation carried out byArchaeological Survey of India (ASI) near Naidupeta

(about 80 km from Tirupati and Nellore), has found that maritime trade centre based out of a

fortified settlement near the banks of the Swarnamukhi river in Andhra Pradesh’s Gottiprolu

may have had a trade guild with its own army to protect its interests around 2,000 years ago.

So far only 10 per cent of the site has been excavated and ASI will soon start its second round

of survey to find out more about the maritime trade 2000 years ago.

About the Excavations

• The first round of excavation at the site unearthed a huge settlement surrounded by a

brick enclosure that may have had a moat around it.The excavation unearthed brick-

built structures in elliptical, circular and rectangular shapes.

• The size of bricks (43 to 48 cm) can be compared to those in the

Satavahana/Ikshvaku period structures in the Krishna valley, according to the

ASI. This means the site may date back to 2nd century to 1st century BCE.

• A four-armed 2-metre tall sculpture of Vishnu was unearthed at the site that can be

dated back to the Pallava period (8th Century CE) as per its features includinghead

gear and drapery.

• The excavation also unearthed a series of broken terracotta pipes that fit into each

other and this point towards a form of drainage which existed in those times.

• So, as per the excavations, it can be said that the site appears to be a trade centre in

south coastal Andhra Pradesh which can also be inferred from the strategic location of

the site.

• Again, as per the excavations, it can be inferred that the Trade guilds used to control

such centres and they used to have their own armies to protect their

interests. Evidence also suggests that those kingdoms which had contacts with guilds,

also used to give them a role in administration.

About Satavahanas

• After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the history of the Andhras, as a continuous

account of political and cultural events, commences with the rise of the Satavahanas

as a political power.

• According to Matsya Purana there were 29 rulers of this dynasty. They ruled over the

Andhradesa including Deccan for about 400 years from the 2nd century B.C. to beyond

the 2nd century A.D.

• Satavahanas were also called Salivahanas and Satakarnis.

• Society:

✓ An examination of the names of women who married Satavahana rulers

indicates that many of them had names derived from gotras such as Gotama

and Vasistha, their father’s gotras.

✓ They evidently retained these names instead of adopting names derived from

their husband’s gotra name as they were required to do according to the

Brahmanical rules.

✓ They practiced endogamy or marriage within the kin group, which was (and is)

prevalent amongst several communities in south India.

• Trade and Commerce:

✓ The Deccan, during this period, was an emporium of inland and maritime

trade. The region between the rivers of Godavari and Krishna was full of ports


and throbbing with activity.

✓ There was plentiful currency to facilitate trade and the Telugus entered upon a

period of great industrial, commercial and maritime activity.

✓ They issued a number of lead coins.

• Religion:

✓ They were staunch followers of Brahmanical order.

✓ Buddhism flourished throughout the period and at the same time the rulers

were devoted to Vedic ritualism. They constructed several Buddhist Stupas,

Chaityas and Viharas. The Stupa at Amaravati is known for its architecture par

excellence.

• Pattern of Administration:

✓ Satvahanas kept some of the administrative units found in Ashoka times.

District was called ahara. Their officials were known asamatyas and

mahamatras.

✓ They had three grades of feudatories, namely, raja, mahabhoja and

senapatirespectively (higher to lower).

Decline of Satavahanas

• The decline and fall of the Satavahana empire left the Andhra country in a political

chaos. Local rulers as well as invaders tried to carve out small kingdoms for

themselves and to establish dynasties.

• During the period from A.D.180 to A.D.624, Ikshvakus, Brihatphalayanas,

Salankayanas, Vishnukundins, Vakatakas, Pallavas, Anandagotras, Kalingas and others

ruled over the Andhra area with their small kingdoms. Such instability continued to

prevail until the rise of the Eastern Chalukyas.

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Title 4. India, Pakistan sign Kartarpur pact (The Hindu Page 1)

Syllabus Prelims: Current events of international importance

Mains: GS Paper II – International Relations

Theme Bilateral Relations – India & Pakistan

Highlights Context: India and Pakistan has signed an agreement to operationalise the Kartarpur corridor

that will facilitate pilgrims from India to visit the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.

About the Pact

• The agreement is valid initially for five years. India will hand over the list of pilgrims to

Pakistan 10 days in advance and those granted permission to go may be informed only

four days before the proposed date of travel.

• The corridor is being built to connect Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur with Gurudwara

Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak, to

commemorate his 550th birth anniversary celebrations on November 12.

About Kartarpur Corridor

• The Kartarpur Corridor is a border corridor between the neighbouring nations of India and

Pakistan, connecting the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib (located in Punjab, India)

and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur (in Punjab, Pakistan).

• The corridor is intended to allow religious devotees from India to visit the Gurdwara in

Kartarpur, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the Pakistan-India border, without a visa.

• The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by the prime ministers of India

and Pakistan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, respectively, as part of the Delhi–

Lahore Bus diplomacy.

About Guru Nanak

• Guru Nanak (29 November 1469 – 22 September 1539) was the founder of Sikhism and

the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.

• His birth is celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Kartik Pooranmashi, the full-

moon day in the month of Katak, October–November.

• Guru Nanak's words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns in the holy text of

Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, with some of the major prayers being the Japji Sahib, the

Asa di Var and the Sidh-Ghost.

• It is part of Sikh religious belief that the spirit of Guru Nanak's sanctity, divinity and

religious authority descended upon each of the nine subsequent Gurus when the Guruship

was devolved on to them.

• Guru Nanak was born on 29 November 1469 at Rāi Bhoi Kī Talvaṇḍī (present day

Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan) near Lahore.

• His parents were Kalyan Chand Das Bedi, popularly shortened to Mehta Kalu, and Mata

Tripta. His father was the local patwari (accountant) for crop revenue in the village of

Talwandi.

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Title 5. Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) (The Hindu Page 1)

Syllabus Prelims: Environment

Mains: GS Paper III – Environment

Theme EPCA & GRAP

Highlights Context: Hot mix plants, stone-crushers and construction activities that generate dust are

prohibited from October 26 to 30 in Delhi and its satellite towns, a committee overseeing the

implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

As per GRAP, coal-based industries, except power plants will also have to cease operations

during those five days in the city as well as the satellite towns of Faridabad, Gurugram,

Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Sonipat and Bahadurgarh.

Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

The Government has notified a Graded Response Action Plan for Delhi and NCR, which

comprises measures such as

✓ prohibition on entry of trucks into Delhi;

✓ ban on construction activities, introduction of odd and even scheme for private

vehicles,

✓ shutting of schools,

✓ closure of brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers;

✓ shutting down of Badarpur power plant,

✓ ban on diesel generator sets,

✓ garbage burning in landfills and plying of visibly polluting vehicles etc.

The nature, scope and rigor of measures to be taken is linked to levels of pollution viz. Severe

+ or Emergency, severe, Very poor, Moderate to poor and Moderate, after due consideration

by authorities concerned. The actions are to be implemented in the entire NCR.


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Title 6. Should schools have prayers? – (Interview) (The Hindu Page 11)

Syllabus Prelims: Polity & Governance

Mains: GS Paper II – Polity & Governance

Theme Article 28 – Prayers in school having religious connotation

Highlights Context: This interview highlights whether prayers done in the morning assembly of schools amount to giving religious instructions to students.

Article 28 - Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions

Article 28 distinguishes between three types of educational institutions:

1. In institutions of a completely public nature, there is absolute prohibition on religious education.

2. In institutions where the state acts as a trustee, religious instruction is permitted. 3. In state-aided denominational institutions, religious instructions on a voluntary basis is

permitted. Article 28(3) thus supplements Article 30(1). Article 30 - Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions —(1) All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

• The State of Punjab established Guru Nanak University with a view to make provisions for the study and research on the life and teachings of Guru Nanak and their religious and cultural impact in the context of Indian and world civilizations.

• The Supreme Court rejected the above challenge in DAV College, Jullundar v State of Punjab saying that the provisions did not imply that religious instructions would be given. The above study and research on the life and teachings of Guru Nanak and their religious and cultural impact in the context of Indian and world civilizations cannot be considered as providing for religious instructions.

• In Aruna Roy v Union of India, Supreme Court ruled that Article 28 does not ban study of religions. The whole emphasis is rather “against imparting religious instruction”. There is no prohibition on study of religious philosophy and culture, particularly for having value based social life in a society which is degenerating for power, post or property.


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