Daily Current Affairs MCQ- January 5, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, India and Saudi Arabia discussed signing a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to obtain formal assistance from each other in investigations related to criminal cases.

What is this treaty?

• It is a mechanism whereby countries cooperate to provide and obtain formal assistance in the prevention, suppression, investigation and prosecution of crime to ensure that the criminals do not escape or sabotage the due process of law for want of evidence available in different countries.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs is the Central Authority of India for dealing with requests for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. 
• Section 105 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) explains the reciprocal arrangements to be made by the Central Government with the Foreign Governments about the service of summons/warrants/judicial processes.
• India has so far signed MLATs with 45 countries.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, Tel Aviv University and Columbia University are studying a rare genetic brain disease called "GNB1 Encephalopathy" and trying to develop a drug to treat it effectively.

• It is a kind of brain disease or neurological disorder which affects individuals in the foetus stage.
•  A single nucleotide mutation in the GNB1 gene that makes one of the G-proteins, the "Gβ1 protein," causes this disease.
• Symptoms: Delayed physical and mental development, intellectual disabilities, and frequent epileptic seizures are among the early of the disease.
• Less than 100 cases of GNB1 Encephalopathy have been recorded worldwide. However, the actual number of affected children is probably higher since diagnosis for this genetic disorder is not widely available due to the requirement of sophisticated and expensive procedures.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently said that it was ready to pilot remote voting for domestic migrants through newly devised remote electronic voting machines (RVMs). About:

What is Remote Electronic Voting Machine?

• The new RVM prototype will enable a voter, who is listed in constituencies, to exercise voting rights from a single machine.
• The multi-constituency remote EVM, developed by a public sector undertaking, can handle up to 72 constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
• Migrant voters would not need to travel to their home districts to exercise their franchise if the remote electronic voting machine is implemented properly.
• The remote e-voting machine will be a standalone device which doesn’t need connectivity to operate.
• The Representation of the People Act, The Conduct of Election Rules and The Registration of Electors Rules will need to be amended to introduce remote voting.

How does it work?

• The RVMs will have the same security system and voting experience as the EVM, with the modification of an electronic ballot display with candidates and symbols instead of a fixed ballot paper sheet.
• When the voter scans his/her constituency card in the presence of the Presiding Officer at the station, their respective constituency and candidate list will appear on the RVM display.
• As for counting the votes, the electronic system will also count and store the votes for each candidate in a constituency.

Need:

• As per the 2011 census, 45.36 crore Indians (37% of the population) were internal migrants, settled in a place different from that of their registered residence.
• While 67.4% of the eligible 91.2 crore Indians voted in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, about one-third or close to 30 crore voters did not cast their vote.
• Inability to vote due to internal migration (domestic migrants) is one of the prominent reasons to be addressed to improve voter turnout and ensure participative elections.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The 129th birth anniversary of Satyendra Nath Bose has been celebrated recently.

About:

• Satyendra Nath Bose was a Mathematician and physicist from India. Born on January 1, 1894, Bose collaborated with Einstein to develop what we now know as the Bose-Einstein statistics.
• He was appointed to the position of Reader in Physics at the University of Dhaka. It was here that he made his most significant contributions to physics.
• Bose designed equipment for setting up an X-ray crystallography laboratory at the university, and wrote several papers on a range of subjects, such as ‘D2 Statistics’, and ‘Total Reflection of Electromagnetic Waves in the Ionosphere’.
• In 1945, he left Dhaka to return to his alma mater, the University of Calcutta, as the Khaira Professor of Physics. He retired from the University of Calcutta in 1956 and spent a year as the Vice Chancellor at the Viswa-Bharati University.
• Bose was awarded Padma Vibhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in the country, by the Indian government in 1954.
• He served as president of many scientific institutions, which include the Indian Physical Society, National Institute of Science, Indian Science Congress, and the Indian Statistical Institute.
• He also acted as an advisor to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and later became a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Hence both statements are correct.

Prime Minister will inaugurate inaugural session of the 108th Indian Science Congress through video conferencing on January 3, 2023.

About:

• Indian Science Congress, the annual gathering of researchers in the country is organised by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).
• Theme: “Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment.”
• The first meeting of the Congress was held from January 15-17, 1914 at the premises of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.
• Sections covered in ISC: There are fourteen sections which includes Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Earth System Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Medical Sciences etc.

What is Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA)?

• Established in 1914, ISCA is a professional body under Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology.
• ISCA owes its origin to the foresight and initiative of two British Chemists, namely, Professor J. L. Simonsen and Professor P.S. MacMahon.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, The Prime Minister has paid homage to Savitribai Phule on her birth anniversary.

Who Is Savitribai Phule?

• A pioneer who challenged oppressive social norms in her quest for women’s education, equality and justice, Savitribai Phule is formally recognised as India’s first woman teacher.
• A Dalit woman from the Mali community, Savitribai was born on January 3, 1831, at Naigaon in Satara District.
• In 1840, at the tender age of 9, she was married to Jyotirao (also known as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule one of the leading social reformers and anti-caste activists of India) is said to have educated her at home and later on admitted her to a teacher’s training institution in Pune.

The Establishment Of India’s First Girls’ School

• At a time when education was limited mostly to the upper-class, affluent men, and women were not deemed eligible for going to school, the Phules established a girls’ school in Bhidewada, Pune, in 1948. This was the first girls’ school in India.

Phule’s role as a social reformer

• In 1852, she established a women’s rights advocacy organisation, Mahila Seva Mandal.
• In 1860, the Phule’s organised a barber’s strike against shaving the hair of widowed women.
• Along with Jyotirao, Savitribai started the Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha (‘Home for the Prevention of Infanticide’) for pregnant widows facing discrimination.
• Savitribai Phule also advocated inter-caste marriages, widow remarriage, and eradication of child marriage, sati and dowry systems, among other social issues.
• In 1873, the Phules set up the Satyashodhak Samaj (‘Truth-seekers’ society’), a platform open to all, irrespective of their caste, religion or class hierarchies, with the sole aim of bringing social equity.

Literary works

• Savitribai Phule published her first collection of poems, called Kavya Phule (‘Poetry’s Blossoms’), at the age of 23 in 1854.
• She published Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (‘The Ocean of Pure Gems’), in 1892.

Hence both statements are correct.

Assam Chief Minister has recently announced that no rhinos were poached in the state in 2022.

• Distribution: The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is found only in the Brahmaputra valley, parts of North Bengal, and parts of southern Nepal.
• Characteristics: It has a single black horn that can grow up to 60 cm, and a tough, grey-brown hide with skin folds, which gives the animal its characteristic armour-plated look.
• Conservation: The Indian rhino is listed as vulnerable (better than endangered, worse than near threatened) in the IUCN Red List; it was earlier placed in the endangered category.
• Population: According to the WWF, there are around 3,700 Indian rhinos in the wild today. Assam’s Kaziranga National Park (KNP) alone has 2,613 animals, according to a census carried out in March 2022. There are more than 250 other rhinos in the Orang, Pobitora, and Manas parks.
• Rhino poaching:
  • Rhinos have been poached for their horn, which is prized in some cultures.
  • Ground rhino horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine to cure a range of ailments, from cancer to hangovers, and also as an aphrodisiac”; in Vietnam, a rhino horn is considered a status symbol.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

50 Electric Buses launched in Delhi with support under FAME India Phase II scheme of the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

• Full name of scheme: Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II).
• Implementing agency: Department of Heavy Industry.
• Objective: Promotion of Electric and hybrid vehicle in the country by offering upfront Incentive on purchase of Electric vehicles and by establishing charging Infrastructure for electric vehicles.
• Salient features of the scheme:
  • The scheme with total outlay of Rs 10,000 Crores over the period of three years (2019-20 to 2021-22) will be implemented with effect from 1st April 2019.
  • This scheme is the expanded version of the present scheme titled 'FAME India1 which was launched on 1st April 2015, with total outlay of Rs. 895 crores.
  • Target is to support 10 Lakhs e-2Wheeler, 5 Lakhs e-3Wheelers, 55000 4Wheelers and 7000 Buses. 
  • Under the scheme of FAME-II, the demand incentive for e-2W has been increased to Rs. 15,000/KWh from Rs. 10,000/KWh with an increase in cap from 20% to almost 40% of the cost of the vehicle to increase the adoption of e-2W. 
  • The phase II of FAME-India Scheme has been extended for a period of two years after 31st March 2022.
• Benefits: The scheme will help in addressing the issue of environmental pollution and fuel security.

Hence both statements are correct.

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), the two prominent institutions under the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India for regulating medical education and conducting scientific research respectively, have launched ‘SMART’ (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching Professionals) program.

• It is aimed to boost scientific research in priority healthcare research areas through Ayurveda colleges and hospitals.
• The proposed initiative is conceptualised with an objective to identify, support and promote innovative research ideas in healthcare research areas including Osteoarthritis, Iron Deficiency Anaemia, Chronic Bronchitis, Dyslipidemia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Obesity, Diabetes Mellitus, Psoriasis, Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
• The eligible Ayurveda academic institutions may apply by 10 January, 2023.
• All details regarding contact information, eligibility criteria and application process has been shared to all recognized academic institutions and hospitals through NCISM.
• The ‘SMART’ program will motivate teachers for taking up projects in designated areas of healthcare research and create a large database.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Prime Minister has chaired the Annual General Meeting of Nehru Memorial Museum & Library Society (NMML) Society where he emphasised on encouraging research, scholarship among the youth and making history more appealing. The Prime Minister also discussed ways to make the PM-Sangrahalaya more popular among youngsters.

• Status: The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
• Background: It was established in 1964 in the memory of First Prime Minister (PM) of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 - 1964).
• Location: It is located in the Teen Murti House, Delhi (the official residence of the first PM).
• Administration: Prime Minister of India is the President of the NMML.
• NMML Society: It is responsible for all the key decisions regarding the functioning of the memorial.
• Units: It has four major constituents namely –
  • Memorial Museum,
  • Library on modern India,
  • Centre for Contemporary Studies and
  • Nehru Planetarium.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.