Prelims Specific Analysis: 12th October 2022
The Hindu, PIB, IE and Others
Index
A) Science and Technology, Defence, Space
1. The Outbreak of Legionellosis (DTE)
2. Flex Fuel Vehicles (PIB)
B) Art, Culture and History
3. Guru Ram Das (PIB)
4. Navayana Buddhism and status of neo-Buddhists in India
(TH, pg 8)
C) Schemes, Policies, Initiatives, Awards and Social Issues
5. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme (TH, pg 10)
D) Polity, Bills, Acts and Judgments
6. Chief Justice of India: Appointment, Tenure and
Qualifications (TH, pg 11)
E) Agriculture, Geography, Environment and Biodiversity
7. What is inimum Support Price (MSP) and how is it
determined? (TH, pg 12)
F) International Relations
8. Israel and Lebanon settled their maritime border (TH, pg 13)
G) Economic Developments: India and World
9. Supplementary Budgetary Allocations (TH, pg 14)
H) Miscellaneous
10. IMF’s October 2022 World Economic Outlook (TH, pg 1)
A) Science and Technology, Defence, Space
1. The Outbreak of Legionellosis (DTE)
• Context: Argentina’s mystery pneumonia outbreak, where 11
people have been infected and four have succumbed to the
illness, has finally been identified as Legionellosis by the
country’s health ministry.
Analysis
• Legionellosis is a “pneumonia-like illness that varies in
severity from mild illness to a serious and sometimes fatal form
of pneumonia.
• It is caused by exposure to the Legionella bacteria species
found in contaminated water and potting mixes.
• Cases of legionellosis are often categorized as being
community, travel or hospital acquired based on the type of
exposure.
Extent of the disease
• Legionnaires’ disease is believed to occur worldwide.
Transmission
• The most common form of transmission of Legionella is
inhalation of contaminated aerosols from contaminated
water.
• Sources of aerosols that have been linked with transmission
of Legionella include air conditioning cooling towers, hot and
cold water systems, humidifiers and whirlpool spas.
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• Infection can also occur by aspiration of contaminated water or
ice, particularly in susceptible hospital patients, and by
exposure of babies during water births.
• To date, there has been no reported direct human-to-human
transmission.
Treatment
• Overall, the death rate is usually within the range of 5–
10%.
• Treatments exist, but there is currently no vaccine available
for Legionnaires' disease.
• The non-pneumonic form of infection is self-limiting and does
not require medical interventions, including antibiotic treatment.
• Patients with Legionnaires’ disease always require antibiotic
treatment following diagnosis.
2. Flex Fuel Vehicles (PIB)
• Context: The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways
launched Toyota’s first of its kind pilot project on Flexi-Fuel
Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV) in India which
would run on 100% petrol as well as 20 to 100% blended
ethanol and electric power.
Analysis
What are Flex Fuel Vehicles?
• The conventional internal combustion engine-based vehicles
require fuel to operate, and the fundamentals remain the same
for the flex-fuel engine-based vehicles too.
• However, Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) are capable of
operating on gasoline (petrol only) and any percentage
blend of gasoline and ethanol.
• Flex Fuel Engine technology (FFE) vehicles can run entirely
on ethanol too.
• Note: Diesel Engines are not considered in the flex fuel
category.
Can vehicles run on 100% Ethanol?
• Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it
is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane value
and improve vehicle emissions.
• Flex fuel vehicles (FFV) are capable of running on 100 per cent
petrol or 100 per cent bio-ethanol (E100) or a combination of
both.
• FFVs will also help the government meet its commitments when
it comes to reducing emission.
• Bio-ethanol contains less energy per litre (calorific value)
than petrol.
• E20 blending will result in drop in fuel efficiency by nearly 6-7
per cent in 4 wheelers designed for E0 and calibrated to E10.
• Higher blending of ethanol will mean higher manufacturing
costs which translates to pricier vehicles.
B) Art, Culture and History
3. Guru Ram Das (PIB)
• Context: The country celebrated the birth anniversary or
Parkash Purab of Guru Ram Das.
Analysis
• Guru Ram Das, also called Bhāī Jeṭhā, (1534-1581) was the
fourth Sikh Guru (1574–81) and founder of Amritsar, the
centre of Sikhism and the site of the Sikhs’ principal place of
worship—the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple.
• Guru Ram Das continued the missionary endeavour begun by
his predecessor, Amar Das.
• On land given to him by the Mughal emperor Akbar, he built
a holy tank, or pool, and then, wishing to build a community
around it, he invited merchants and traders to settle there.
• The town was first named Ramdaspur and then Amritsar.
• Shortly before his death, his son Arjan succeeded him as Guru.
• Note: The Guru Granth Sahib was completed in 1604 and
installed in the Golden Temple at the time of Guru Arjun
(1563-1606), the fifth Sikh Guru.
4. Navayana Buddhism and status of neo-Buddhists in India
(TH, pg 8)
• Context: Every year Dussehra is also celebrated as Ashoka
Vijaya Dashami to commemorate Buddhist Conversion Day.
• On October 14, 1956, B. R. Ambedkar along with more than
half a million followers had embraced Buddhism in Nagpur,
Maharashtra.
Analysis
What is Navayana Buddhism?
• On October 13, 1935, Ambedkar, as president of the ‘Yeola
Conversion Conference’ near Nasik, announced his decision
to renounce Hinduism, as a path to contest the Hindu caste
order.
• He asked the assembled members from the depressed castes
to abandon struggles such as the temple-entry agitations
and advised them to leave Hinduism entirely and embrace
another religion.
• However, the decision to adopt Buddhism was not announced
then.
• During the next two decades, Ambedkar reached the conclusion
that Buddhism is an appropriate choice as:
o it had challenged the Brahmanical caste-based social
hierarchies in the past;
o it focused on modern ethical values and a scientific
temperament and
o preached peace and compassion for social coexistence.
• Ambedkar embraced Buddhism in a grand ceremony at
Nagpur’s Deekshabhoomi, where more than five lakh followers
had assembled to follow his decision. The event is marked as
the renaissance of Buddhism in India.
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• In the post-event deliberation, Ambedkar called his version of
Buddhism Navayana (followers are called neo-Buddhists),
differentiating it with the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions of
Buddhism.
• Every year in October, lakhs of people assemble at Nagpur’s
Deekshabhoomi to pay homage to Ambedkar and to celebrate
the historic day.
What is the demographic status of neo-Buddhists in India
today?
• The Buddhist population is a mere 0.70%, of which 87% are
neo-Buddhists.
• Further, a large majority of it (around 80%) reside in
Maharashtra (5.8% of the total population).
• The rest are traditional Buddhists and are scattered mainly in
north-eastern States like Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram
and Tripura, etc.
• There has been a decline in the growth rate of Buddhists in
India in recent years.
C) Schemes, Policies, Initiatives, Awards and Social Issues
5. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme (TH, pg 10)
• Context: Expanding the mandate of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti
Padhao’ scheme, the Central government announced the
inclusion of skilling of girls in non-traditional livelihood
(NTL) options in its flagship programme.
Analysis
• The scheme will now also focus on increasing the enrolment
of girls in secondary education, particularly in STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects.
• Some of the new aims for the scheme include:
o ensuring 1% increment in enrolment at the secondary
level and skilling of girls and women every year,
o raising awareness about safe menstrual hygiene, and
o promulgating elimination of child marriages.
Background
• The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme is a
triministerial effort of the Ministries of Women and Child
Development, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and Ministry
of Education.
• BBBP addresses the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and
related issues of women’s empowerment over a life-cycle
continuum.
Key elements
• The key elements of the scheme include:
o enforcement of Pre-Conception & Pre Natal Diagnostic
Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act,
o nationwide awareness and advocacy campaign, and
o multi-sectoral action in select districts (low on CSR).
• There is a strong emphasis on mindset change through
training, sensitization, awarenessraising, and community
mobilization on the ground.
• Currently, the scheme is being implemented across India and
covers 640 districts (as per Census 2011) across the country.
• This Scheme doesn’t have any provision for direct benefit
transfer; therefore, there are no direct beneficiaries under the
Scheme.
Objectives of the Scheme
• The overall long-term objective of the BBBP Scheme is to
improve CSR (number of girls per 1000 boys within the age
group of 0-6 years) in the country and create an enabling
environment for the all-around development of the girl child.
• Immediate objectives are:
o Prevention of gender-biased sex selective elimination;
o Ensuring survival and protection of the girl child;
o Ensuring education and participation of the girl child
Monitorable Targets under the Scheme
• Improve Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) in selected gender critical
districts by 2 points in a year;
• Reduce Gender differentials in Under-5 Child Mortality Rate
from 7 points in 2014 (latest available SRS report) to 1.5 points
per year;
• At least 1.5% increase per year of Institutional deliveries;
• At least 1% increase per year of First trimester ANC
registration;
• Increase enrolment of girls in secondary education to 82% by
2018-19;
• Provide functional toilet for girls in every school in
selected districts;
• Improve the nutritional status of girls-by reducing number of
underweight and anaemic girls under five years of age;
• Ensure universalization of Integrated Child Development
Scheme (ICDS), girls’ attendance, and equal care, monitored
using joint ICDS NHM Mother Child Protection Cards;
• Promote a protective environment for girl children through
implementation of Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences (POCSO) Act 2012;
• Train elected representatives/grassroot functionaries as
Community Champions to mobilize communities to improve
CSR and promote Girl’s education.
National Girl Child Day (January 24)
• In India, the National Girl Child Day is celebrated on January 24
every year.
• It aims towards promoting awareness about the rights of the girl
child and to increase awareness on the importance of girl
education, and their health and nutrition and also to promote the
girls’ position in the society to make their living better among the
society.
• National Girl Child Day was first initiated in 2008 by the
Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Kanya Shikhsa Pravesh Utsav Campaign
• On the eve of International Women’s Day (8th March), the
Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), in
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partnership with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF,
launched a landmark campaign Kanya Shikhsa Pravesh Utsav
to bring back out of school adolescent girls in India to the
formal education and/or skilling system.
• The campaign has been launched with the objective of
enhancing enrolment and retention of girls between 11-14 years
of age in school.
• The campaign will be rolled out under the umbrella of MoWCD’s
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) initiative by targeting more
than 400,000 out of school adolescent girls as primary
beneficiaries.
Do you know?
• According to census data, the child sex ratio (0–6 years) in
India was 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001, which dropped to
918 girls for every 1,000 boys in 2011.
o CSR is calculated on decadal basis by Registrar General
of India through census.
D) Polity, Bills, Acts and Judgments
6. Chief Justice of India: Appointment, Tenure and
Qualifications (TH, pg 11)
• Context: Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit nominated Justice
D.Y. Chandrachud as his successor and the 50th Chief
Justice of India.
• If the government approval comes through, Justice
Chandrachud would be the first second-generation CJI. His
father, Justice Y.V. Chandrachud, was the 16th CJI.
Analysis
Appointment of Chief Justice
• Justice From 1950 to 1973, the practice has been to appoint the
seniormost judge of the Supreme Court as the chief justice of
India.
• This established convention was violated in 1973 when A.N.
Ray was appointed as the Chief Justice of India by superseding
three senior judges.
• This discretion of the government was curtailed by the Supreme
Court in the Second Judges Case (1993), in which the
Supreme Court ruled that the seniormost judge of the
Supreme Court should alone be appointed to the office of
the Chief Justice of India.
Qualifications of Judges
• A person to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court
should be a citizen of India, and
o (a) He should have been a judge of a High Court (or high
courts in succession) for five years; or
o (b) He should have been an advocate of a High Court (or
High Courts in succession) for ten years; or
o (c) He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the
president.
• From the above, it is clear that the Constitution has not
prescribed a minimum age for appointment as a judge of
the Supreme Court.
Oath or Affirmation
• A person appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, before
entering upon his Office, has to make and subscribe an oath or
affirmation before the President, or some person appointed by
him for this purpose.
• In his oath, a judge of the Supreme Court swears:
o 1. to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of
India;
o 2. to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India;
o 3. to duly and faithfully and to the best of his ability,
knowledge and judgement perform the duties of the Office
without fear or favour, affection or ill-will; and 4.
o to uphold the Constitution and the laws.
Salaries and Allowances
• The salaries, allowances, privileges, leave and pension of the
judges of the Supreme Court are determined from time to time
by the Parliament.
• They cannot be varied to their disadvantage after their
appointment except during a financial emergency.
• The salaries, allowances and pensions of the judges and the
staff as well as all the administrative expenses of the Supreme
Court are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
o Thus, they are non-votable by the Parliament (though
they can be discussed by it).
Tenure of Judges
• The Constitution has not fixed the tenure of a judge of the
Supreme Court. However, it makes the following three
provisions in this regard:
o 1. He holds office until he attains the age of 65 years. Any
question regarding his age is to be determined by such
authority and in such manner as provided by Parliament.
o 2. He can resign his office by writing to the President.
o 3. He can be removed from his office by the President on
the recommendation of the Parliament.
• The retired judges of the Supreme Court are prohibited from
pleading or acting in any Court or before any authority within the
territory of India.
o This ensures that they do not favour any one in the hope
of future favour.
E) Agriculture, Geography, Environment and Biodiversity
7. What is Minimum Support Price (MSP) and how is it
determined? (TH, pg 12)
• Context: Farmers’ organisations have questioned the delay in
announcing the minimum support price (MSP) for crops in the
ongoing Rabi season even as sowing has started in several
States.
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• Note: You have already prepared this topic in detail from the
July 2022 Magazine.
F) International Relations
8. Israel and Lebanon settled their maritime border (TH, pg 13)
• Context: Israel has reached a U.S.-brokered agreement with
Lebanon to settle their long-disputed maritime border, that
potentially unlocks significant offshore gas production for both
countries.
Analysis
• Negotiations between the neighbouring countries, which are
still technically at war, gained momentum in recent weeks
with both sides eyeing revenue from potentially rich
Mediterranean gas fields.
• A major source of friction was the Karish gas field, which Israel
insisted fell entirely within its waters and was not a subject of
negotiation.
• Lebanon reportedly claimed part of the field and Hezbollah, the
powerful Iran-backed militant group that holds huge sway
in Lebanon, threatened attacks if Israel began production at
Karish.
• Under terms of the agreement leaked to the press. all of the
Karish field would fall under Israeli control, while another
potential gas field, Qana, would be divided but its exploitation
would be under Lebanon’s control.
G) Economic Developments: India and World
9. Supplementary Budgetary Allocations (TH, pg 14)
• Context: The Department of Economic Affairs sought proposals
from Ministries by November 11 for the first batch of
supplementary demands to be placed in the upcoming Winter
session of Parliament.
Analysis
• In addition to the budget, various other grants are made by the
Parliament under extraordinary or special circumstances.
Supplementary Grant
• It is granted when the amount authorised by the Parliament
through the appropriation act for a particular service for the
current financial year is found to be insufficient for that year.
Additional Grant
• It is granted when a need has arisen during the current financial
year for additional expenditure upon some new service not
contemplated in the budget for that year.
Excess Grant
• It is granted when money has been spent on any service
during a financial year in excess of the amount granted for
that service in the budget for that year.
o It is voted by the Lok Sabha after the financial year.
o Before the demands for excess grants are submitted to
the Lok Sabha for voting, they must be approved by the
Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
Vote of Credit
• It is granted for meeting an unexpected demand upon the
resources of India, when on account of the magnitude or the
indefinite character of the service, the demand cannot be stated
with the details ordinarily given in a budget.
o Hence, it is like a blank cheque given to the Executive
by the Lok Sabha.
Exceptional Grant
• It is granted for a special purpose and forms no part of the
current service of any financial year.
Token Grant
• It is granted when funds to meet the proposed expenditure
on a new service can be made available by reappropriation.
o A demand for the grant of a token sum (of Re 1) is
submitted to the vote of the Lok Sabha and if assented,
funds are made available.
o Reappropriation involves transfer of funds from one head
to another.
o It does not involve any additional expenditure.
• Supplementary, additional, excess and exceptional grants
and vote of credit are regulated by the same procedure which
is applicable in the case of a regular budget.

H) Miscellaneous
10. IMF’s October 2022 World Economic Outlook (TH, pg 1)
• The world, including India, will experience an overall slowdown
in 2023 owing to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war,
tightening monetary conditions globally, the highest
inflation in decades, and lingering effects of the pandemic,
according to the International Monetary Fund.

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