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Facts Of The Day
24 January 2022

Prelims Facts

1.  Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2022

· News: To recognize and honour the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organizations in India in the field of disaster manageent, Government of India has instituted an annual award known as Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.

· About the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.

· The award is announced every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

· It carries a cash prize of Rs. 51 lakh and a certificate in case of an institution and Rs. 5 lakh and a certificate in case of an individual.

· For the year 2022 the awardees are

· Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (in the Institutional category) and

· Professor Vinod Sharma (in the Individual category).

· They will be conferred with the Award, alongwith the awardees of 2019, 2020 and 2021, by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in the investiture ceremony to be held today evening to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

· Following is a summary of the outstanding work of the winners of 2022 Award in the field of Disaster Management:

i.     Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM), established in 2012,

· It has been working to enhance the disaster risk reduction (DRR) capacity of Gujarat.

· Through a series of strategically designed capacity building programs, GIDM has trained more than 12,000 professionals on diverse issues concerning multi-hazard risk management and reduction during the pandemic.

· Some recent key initiatives include the development of a user-friendly Gujarat Fire Safety Compliance Portal, and development of a Mobile App Technology based Advanced COVID-19 Syndromic Surveillance (ACSyS) system to complement the COVID-19 surveillance efforts of Integrated Disease Surveillance Project.

ii.    Professor Vinod Sharma, a senior professor at the Indian Institute of Public Administration and Vice-Chairman of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, was the founder co-ordinator of the National Centre of Disaster Management, now known as the National Institute of Disaster Management.

· He has worked tirelessly towards bringing disaster risk reduction (DRR) to the forefront of the national agenda. His pioneering work in DRR in India gave him international recognition and he is a resource person to Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) and all Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs) for disaster management.

· As Vice Chairman of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, he has made Sikkim a model State in implementing DRR, whilst initiating panchayat level preparedness plans, linking climate change and DRR.

Source:  <https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1791870>

 

2.  Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah will virtually release India’s First “District Good Governance Index”, in Jammu today

· News; The Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah will virtually release India’s First “District Good Governance Index”, prepared by DARPG in collaboration with Government of Jammu & Kashmir in the august presence of Minister of State for PMO, Personnel, PG and Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh and the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Shri Manoj Sinha at Convention Centre Jammu

Source <https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1791747>

 

Mains Facts

1.  Income of poorest fifth plunged 53% in 5 yrs; those at top surged

· News: In a trend unprecedented since economic liberalisation, the annual income of the poorest 20% of Indian households, constantly rising since 1995, plunged 53% in the pandemic year 2020-21 from their levels in 2015-16.

· In the same five-year period, the richest 20% saw their annual household income grow 39% reflecting the sharp contrast Covid’s economic impact has had on the bottom of the pyramid and the top.

 

· This stark K-shaped recovery emerges in the latest round of ICE360 Survey 2021, conducted by People’s Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE), a Mumbai- based think-tank.

 

Source <https://indianexpress.com/article/india/income-of-poorest-fifth-plunged-53-in-5-yrs-those-at-top-surged-7738426/>

 

2.  Elephant corridors to be restored in south Bengal; 403 human deaths recorded between 2014 and 2019

o  News: Minimising elephant-human conflict is the pressing need of the region and wildlife organisations and experts have now taken up the task of undertaking ecological restoration of elephant corridors in south Bengal.

o  Context: The fragmented and patchy forests of south Bengal have emerged as one of the hotspots of human-elephant conflict in the country, resulting in loss of lives of both humans and pachyderms.

· It is also aimed at creating a balanced ecosystem so that humans and animals can coexist in consonance with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

 

o  Problem of Man-Animal Conflict:

· At times, the conflict results in law and order problems.

· In November 2021, a herd of 50 elephants came within 5 km of east Burdwan town, prompting the district administration to impose prohibitory orders in several gram panchayats in the region.

· Between 2014 and 2019, as many as 2,381 human deaths were recorded in elephant attacks across the country, of which 403 (over 16%) were reported from West Bengal. The State, however, is home to less than 3% of the elephant population and records a high death count of pachyderms in conflicts.

o  Reasons for ‘Degradation of forests’: “The degradation started not just with increased agricultural activities in the region but also participatory joint forest management such as community forestry, which changed the very nature of the forest to make it commercially viable, not considering the biodiversity of the region.”

Source - The Hindu - Page 1/Front

GS 3: Environment

 

3.  Taliban, Afghan civil society members begin Oslo talks; Women activists, journalists meet ruling dispensation

· News: The first Taliban delegation to visit Europe since returning to power in Afghanistan began talks on Sunday in Oslo with Afghan civil society members focused on human rights, ahead of highly-anticipated meetings with Western officials.

· The Agenda of the Oslo Process: 

· Headed by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, the delegation is to dedicate the first day of their three-day visit to talks with women activists and journalists, among others.

· On Monday, the Taliban will meet with representatives of the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and the European Union, while Tuesday will be dedicated to bilateral talks with Norwegian officials.

Source - The Hindu - Page 11/World

GS 2: IR

 

4.  Reining in the power of tech giants: What is the American Innovation and Choice Online Act? How will it break e-market monopoly?

· News: The American Innovation and Choice Online Act, introduced in Senate on October 18, 2021, by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Chuck Grassley has been approved on January 20, 2022.

· The legislation would bar dominant platforms from unfairly preferencing their “own products, services, or lines of business” over those of other businesses that depend on their platforms.

· The bill also prohibits dominant digital platforms from using non-public data from other businesses to compete with them on their platforms. Big Tech has been actively opposing the bill while over 30 small and medium tech companies have endorsed it.

· The EU has also approved of two proposals —the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) —meant to take on U.S. tech giants. The negotiations on the new rules are expected to begin this year, with the rules likely to be adopted in 2023.

Source - The Hindu - Page: Text & Context - II

GS 3: Economy

 

5.  What's driving up crude prices now?

· News: Geopolitical tensions have created fresh fears of oil supply disruptions, resulting in high crude prices. According to Goldman Sachs, crude prices are likely to breach the $100/bbl mark in the third quarter of 2022. This isn’t good news for India. Mint explains:

· Outlook for crude prices:

· Crude prices have begun soaring to a multi-year high after the drone attacks by Houthi rebels of Yemen on targets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

· On 20 January, the Brent future hit a seven-year high of $88.3 per barrel, and the outlook remains bullish for crude futures. In addition, the growing presence of the Russian military at the Ukrainian border has raised red flags—the US has threatened serious implications in case of a Russian invasion. An escalation of the crisis would only exacerbate supply concerns and lift crude prices.

· Other factors:

· Strong demand, weak investment, and a lack of spare capacity are among other factors driving up prices.

· According to the International Energy Agency, worldwide oil demand has now recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but supply is short by at least a million barrels per day.

· Further, US can sell from its strategic petroleum reserve, its supply is limited: Crude inventories may have fallen to 593 million barrels, the lowest since November 2002.

· The brief outage of the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline due to an explosion also caused a spike in oil prices recently.

· Impact on India

· India imports 85% of its domestic oil requirements. The import bill, therefore, will go up.

· Already, India’s oil import bill has more than doubled to $71.1 billion between April and November 2021. A $10 per barrel increase in crude raises India’s inflation rate by around 50 basis points and widens the fiscal deficit by about 40 basis points. Any crude price shock has a bearing on the Current Account Deficit (CAD) to GDP ratio that rises sharply even if the GDP itself is growing.

· Duty structure:

· With several assembly elections approaching, oil companies have suspended fuel price revisions. Petrol and diesel prices have been static since 2 December even though crude has risen from $70.5 a barrel to $87.5 a barrel now.

· Every $1 increase in crude necessities a 50 paisa per litre hike in the prices of petrol and diesel. To keep fuel prices from rising post elections, both the Centre and states would need to cut excise duty and the value added tax (VAT) on fuel further.

Source: chahalacademy.com

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