Daily Current Affairs MCQ- February 2, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the continuation of Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) for export of Apparel/Garments and Made ups upto 31st March 2026.

• It aims to reimburse all embedded State and Central Taxes/Levies for exports of manufactured goods and garments.
• It has been established as a successor for the old "Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) Scheme.
• The difference between RoSL & RoSCTL Scheme is that under RoSL Scheme, there was no benefit on the central tax and Levies. But in the RoSCTL scheme, the exporter will get rebate of both State and Central tax and Levies.
• Objective: To compensate for the State and Central Taxes and Levies in addition to the Duty Drawback Scheme on export of apparel/ garments and Made-ups by way of rebate.
• The rebate under the Scheme shall be in the form of duty credit scrips.
• The scrips shall be issued electronically on Customs system.
• The duty credit scrips shall be used for payment of Basic Customs Duty on import of goods. These scrips shall be freely transferable.
• The duty credit available in an e-scrip shall be transferred at a time for the entire amount in the said e-scrip to another person and transfer of the duty credit in part shall not be permitted.
• Validity of e-scrip: The period of validity of the e-scrip, of one year from its creation, shall not change on account of transfer of the e-scrip.
• Eligibility: All exporters of garments/Apparel and made-ups manufactured in India are eligible to take benefit under this scheme, except entities/ IECs under the Denied Entity List of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
• Implementing agency: It has been notified by the Ministry of Textiles. However, the scheme shall be implemented by the Department of Revenue.

Hence both statements are correct.

Manipur boasts a rich cultural heritage but some of its invaluable art forms like Subika paintings are on the brink of extinction due to neglect.

• It a style of painting which is intricately linked to the Meitei community’s cultural history.
• It is surviving through its six manuscripts — Subika, Subika Achouba, Subika Laishaba, Subika Choudit, Subika Cheithil and Thengrakhel Subika.
• Although the royal chronicle, Cheitharol Kumbaba, doesn’t mention a specific founder, there is a possibility that this art form existed when the writing tradition was introduced in the state.
• Experts estimate the use of Subika paintings since the 18th or 19th century.

Key points about Subika Laisaba

• The painting of Subika Laisaba is a composition of cultural motifs made by pre-existing features and other influences stimulated from their cultural worldviews.
• Among the six manuscripts, Subika Laishaba represents a direct and authentic continuation of the Meitei cultural tradition depicted through visual images.
• The illustrations of Subika Laishaba have visual language from the elements such as lines, shapes, forms, colours, and patterns.
• These visual images become Meitei’s cultural motif, structure to create visual effects as well as express cultural significance meaning and values.
• The visual images found in this manuscript are painted on handmade paper.
• It is also found that materials of manuscript are prepared indigenously either handmade paper or barks of tree.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

There are a variety of power banks that are available online, but since the launch of MagSafe chargers from Apple, the industry has evolved. 

• MagSafe charger is a wireless charger/power bank that connects to the back of your wireless-compatible mobile phone to charge your phone in the easiest of ways.
• It is equipped with either a 5,000 or a 10,000 mAh battery pack on the inside, which can be used as a power backup.
• This type of charger uses the magnetic current present at the back of your mobile phone and the magnets on the MagSafe charger.
• A good MagSafe charger is just like any other wireless power bank that attaches to your mobile phone and works as a power bank.
• As with any other power bank, a MagSafe charger also needs to be charged.
• Working
• It is a type of power bank that is only compatible with devices that support wireless charging.
• The MagSafe chargers, after you fix them directly on the back of your mobile phone, connect to the magnets on the charger that complete the circuit.
• The complete circuit allows the current to flow from the power bank to the device, which allows the charger to charge your mobile phone.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Tamil Nadu government has declared 80,114.80 hectares of reserve forests in Bargur Hills in Erode district, as the Thanthai Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. 

• This region is part of the corridor that connects the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) to the Male Mahadeshwara Hills Tiger Reserve and the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, and plays a crucial role in maintaining a viable tiger population.
• These forests occupy a prominent position in the Eastern Ghats as they merge with the Western Ghat at the Nilgiris.
• The vast landscape is home to diverse flora and fauna, making it an ideal habitat for various life forms.
• The landscape is interconnected to the Kollegal forests of Karnataka and the Nilgiris, creating one of the most diverse habitats in the region. 
• It is one of the tiger corridors identified by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
• The region is also part of the Nilgiris Elephant Reserve and is home to a healthy population of large herbivores including elephants and the Indian Gaur.
• Also, the landscape is the catchment of the Palar River that drains into the Cauvery River and is a crucial source of water for agricultural activities.
• It is also of cultural and historical significance to tribal and local communities who depend on these ecosystems for their livelihoods and traditional practices.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

A record number of manatees converged at a Florida state park recently.

About Manatees:

• Manatees are large aquatic mammals, and sometimes they're referred to as “sea cows.”
• They belong toa group of animals called Sirenia. This group also contains dugongs.
• Dugongs and manatees are very similar in appearance and behavior, but there is one key difference: their tails.
• Manatees have paddle-shaped tails, and dugongs have fluked tails, giving it a whale-like appearance.
• Habitat: Manatees inhabit shallow, marshy coastal areas and rivers.
• There are three species, or types, of manatee.
• The Amazonian manatee lives in the Amazon River and in fresh water in South America. This species is only found in freshwater.
• The African manatee lives in tropical West Africa.
• The Caribbean manatee is found in Florida and the West Indies.
• Features:
• Adult manatees may reach a length of 15 feet (4.6 meters) and a weight of 1,660 kilograms. 
• Females tend to be larger and heavier than males.
• Dull gray, blackish, or brown in colour, all three manatee species have stout tapered bodies ending in a flat rounded tail used for forward propulsion. 
• The forelimbs are modified into flippers; there are no hind limbs.
• In order to breathe, they must swim to the water’s surface for air. 
• Lifespan: 50 to 60 years
• They are herbivores. They spend up to eight hours a day grazing and can consume 4 to 9 percent of their body weight in aquatic vegetation daily.
• Apart from mothers and their young, or males following a receptive female, manatees are generally solitary animals.
• Conservation Status: All three manatee species are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Finance Minister recently presented fiscal consolidation projections that surpass expectations for the current financial year and Budget Estimates (BE) for the next year, despite the conservative tax buoyancy in the estimates.

About Tax Buoyancy:

• Tax buoyancy explains the relationship between the changes in the government’s tax revenue growth and the changes in Gross domestic product (GDP).
• There is a strong connection between the government’s tax revenue earnings and economic growth.
• As the economy achieves faster growth, the tax revenue of the government also goes up. Tax buoyancy explains this relationship.
• It refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue growth to changes in GDP.
• When a tax is buoyant, its revenue increases without increasing the tax rate.
• It depends upon:
• the size of the tax base;
• the friendliness of the tax administration;
• the rationality and simplicity of tax rates;
• Tax buoyancy will be highest for direct taxes. Generally, direct taxes are more sensitive to the GDP growth rate.

What is tax elasticity?

• A similar looking concept is tax elasticity. It refers to changes in tax revenue in response to changes in the tax rate.
• For example, how tax revenue changes if the government reduces corporate income tax from 30 percent to 25 percent indicate tax elasticity.

What is Laffer Curve?

• It is an economic theory pioneered by economist Arthur Laffer.
• Created in 1974, it visually shows the relationship between tax rates and the amount of tax revenue collected by governments.
• It suggests that tax rates above a certain threshold reduce tax revenue since they incentivize people not to work.
• It suggests there is an optimum tax rate which maximises total tax revenue.

Hence both statements are not correct.

An international team of astronomers recently conducted multi-wavelength observations of AT 2023clx—the closest to Earth tidal disruption event (TDE). 

About Tidal Disruption Event (TDE):

• Tidal disruption events (TDEs) are astronomical phenomena that occur when a star passes close enough to a supermassive black hole and is pulled apart by the black hole's tidal forces, causing the process of disruption.
• Such tidally disrupted stellar debris starts raining down on the black hole and radiation emerges from the innermost region of accreting debris, which is an indicator of the presence of a TDE.
• How does a TDE typically unfold?
• Close Approach: A star in a galaxy approaches a black hole on a very close trajectory due to gravitational interactions within the galaxy.
• Tidal Forces: As the star gets closer to the black hole, the gravitational forces acting on it become increasingly uneven due to the difference in gravitational pull on the near side and far side of the star. These tidal forces can be strong enough to disrupt the star.
• Stellar Disruption: When the tidal forces exceed the self-gravitational forces holding the star together, it undergoes a process called "tidal disruption." The star is stretched and eventually torn apart into a stream of gas and debris.
• Accretion Disk Formation: The debris from the disrupted star forms an accretion disk around the black hole. This disk is composed of hot gas and dust, and it spirals inwards towards the black hole.
• Energy Release: As the material in the accretion disk spirals inwards, it releases a tremendous amount of energy in the form of X-rays and ultraviolet radiation.
• Flares and Observations: TDEs are often observed as bright flares of radiation from the centre of a galaxy. These flares can last for several months to years, gradually fading as the disrupted star's material is consumed by the black hole.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Finance Minister in Budget 2024 proposed the manner of distribution of credit by input service distributors.

About Input Service Distributor (ISD):

• ISD means an office of the supplier of goods or services or both which receives tax invoices towards receipt of input services and issues a prescribed document for the purposes of distributing the credit of central tax (CGST), State tax (SGST)/ Union territory tax (UTGST), or integrated tax (IGST) paid on the said services to a supplier of taxable goods or services or both having the same Permanent Account Number (PAN) as that of the ISD.
• Hence, ISD is a business which receives invoices for services used by its branches.
• It distributes the tax paid to such branches on a proportional basis by issuing an ISD invoice.
• The branches can have different GST Identification Numbers (GSTINs) but must have the same PAN as that of ISD.
• Registration under GST:
• An ISD is required to obtain a separate registration.
• Registration is mandatory and there is no threshold limit for registration for an ISD. 
• Relevance of ISD:
• It is relevant for businesses having multiple branches operating within India. 
• These businesses are required to obtain GSTIN for each branch from where taxable supplies are made.
• Based on the purchases of the head office or branch, ITC (Input Tax Credit) in the form of SGST, CGST, or IGST would accrue to the business. 
• Toensure that the ITC is properly distributed amongst the various branches of the business, ISD concept has been introduced by the Government.
• ISD is made available to business having a large share of common expenditures, and billing/payment is done from a centralised location. 
• Where ISD doesn’t apply?
• ISD mechanism is meant only for distributing credit on common invoices pertaining to input services.
• It is not applicable when input or capital goods are involved.

Hence both statements are correct.

Scientists have found a natural remedy to protect eucalyptus forest plantations from a pest, eucalyptus snout beetle, which is known to cause serious damage to eucalypts.

• It is a leaf-feeding beetle that is a major defoliator of eucalypts.
• It is also known as eucalyptus weevil.
• The pest is indigenous to Australia but occurs in many countries throughout the world where eucalypts are grown. 
• The beetle feeds on leaves, buds and shoots, resulting in stunted growth and deflation and causing heavy losses.
• It can cause damage over vast areas as it had a great flight capability and gets transferred with transport of forest products.
• The pest is mainly controlled with the help of microwasps Anaphes spp — an expensive solution.
• This led a team of scientists to look for naturally occurring pathogenic fungi to tackle the problem.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseaseas (ICD) 11 TM Module 2, Morbidity Codes launch event will be held in New Delhi on 10th January, 2024. 

• It is developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to classify diseases internationally.
• The global data on diseases currently available is mainly based on healthcare practices to be diagnosed through modern biomedicine.
• It serves a broad range of uses globally and provides critical knowledge on the extent, causes and consequences of human disease and death worldwide via data that is reported and coded with the ICD.
• Clinical terms coded with ICD are the main basis for health recording and statistics on disease in primary, secondary and tertiary care, as well as on cause of death certificates.
• These data and statistics support payment systems, service planning, and administration of quality and safety, and health services research.
• Diagnostic guidance linked to categories of ICD also standardizes data collection and enables large scale research.
• The classification of data and terminology relating to diseases based on Ayush systems such as Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani etc. is not yet included in the WHO ICD series.
• Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) is an agency under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that serves as the WHO Collaboration Centre for ICD-related activities.
• It facilitates the collection and dissemination of data on various diseases and mortality.

Hence both statements are correct.