Daily Current Affairs MCQ - January 8, 2022 - CLAT MCQ

• The expenditure limit for candidates for Lok Sabha constituencies was increased from Rs 54 lakh-Rs 70 lakh (depending on states) to Rs 70 lakh-Rs 95 lakh, by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
  • Further, the spending limit for Assembly constituencies was hiked from Rs 20 lakh-Rs 28 lakh to Rs 28 lakh- Rs 40 lakh (depending on states).
• It is the amount an election candidate can legally spend for their election campaign and has to account for, which includes expenses on public meetings, rallies, advertisements, posters, banners, vehicles and advertisements.
  • All candidates are required to submit their expenditure statement to the ECI within 30 days of the completion of the elections.
  • An incorrect account or expenditure beyond the cap can lead to disqualification of the candidate by the ECI for up to three years, under Section 10A of RPA, 1951.
  • Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• There is no cap on a political party’s expenditure, which is often exploited by candidates of the party. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment Act, 2013:

• Background: The Supreme Court in a landmark judgement in the Vishakha and others v State of Rajasthan 1997 case gave ‘Vishakha guidelines’.
  • These guidelines formed the basis for the The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 ("Sexual Harassment Act"). Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Mechanism: The Act defines sexual harassment at the workplace and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints.
  • Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or branch with 10 or more employees. Hence statement 2 is correct.
  • The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering evidence.
  • The Complaints Committees are required to provide for conciliation before initiating an inquiry if requested by the complainant.
• Penal Provisions: Penalties have been prescribed for employers. Non-compliance with the provisions of the Act shall be punishable with a fine.
  • Repeated violations may lead to higher penalties and cancellation of license or registration to conduct business.
• Responsibility of Administration: The State Government will notify the District Officer in every district, who will constitute a Local Complaints Committee (LCC) so as to enable women in the unorganised sector or small establishments to work in an environment free of sexual harassment.

• Recently, the Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change has launched the ‘Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India’ under which 50 of these big cats will be introduced in the next five years.
  • Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognised as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.
  • The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been eliminated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The cheetah is one of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Miocene era.
  • The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal that lives in Africa and Asia.
  • The African Cheetah is bigger in size as compared to Asiatic Cheetah. The latter is smaller and paler and has more fur with a smaller head and a longer neck. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • The African Cheetah is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List whereas the Asiatic Cheetah is listed as Critically Endangered. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
• Hence, option A is correct.

A Moscow-led military alliance dispatched troops to help quell mounting unrest in Kazakhstan as the police said dozens were killed trying to storm government buildings.

• Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades after days of protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest.
• Under increasing pressure, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appealed overnight to the Russia-domina- ted Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), which includes five other ex-Soviet states, to combat what he called “terrorist groups” that had “received extensive training abroad”.

Key facts

• The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia that consists of select post-Soviet states.
• Membership: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
• Headquarters: Moscow, Russia.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

A brief of the achievements of Railway Protection Force (RPF) during the year 2021 is as under.

• RPF has been saving lives in mission mode under “Mission Jeewan Raksha”. RPF personnel have saved 1650 lives from the wheels of the running trains at railway stations in last four years under this mission.
• An initiative “Meri Saheli” was launched to provide security to lady passengers in long distance trains particularly travelling alone or those who are vulnerable to crime.
• During the year 2021, RPF retrieved left behind luggage having value to the tune of more than 23 Crores belonging to 12377 passengers and returned to them after due verification. RPF has been doing this service to passengers under “Operation Amanat”.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh will inaugurate the 24th Conference on e-Governance 2020-21 in Hyderabad on January 7, 2021.

• The two-day conference themed 'India’s Techade: Digital Governance in a Post Pandemic World’ will be organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in association with the Government of Telangana.
• During the event, National Awards for e-Governance 2021 will be presented under 6 categories to 26 e-Governance initiatives at Central, State and District levels and also to Academic and Research Institutions and Public Sector Undertakings.
• This includes 12 Gold, 13 Silver and 1 Jury Award.
• Delegates from 28 States and 9 Union Territories along with academia, research institutions, IT Industry would be participating in the conference through Virtual Mode.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Fossil fuels generally are the products of the carbonisation of vegetable matter. The term carbonisation is also applied to the pyrolysis of coal to produce coke. Carbonisation is also a stage in the charcoal making process, and is considered the most important step of all since it has such power to influence the whole process from the growing tree to the final distribution of charcoal to various sources. The gas produced by carbonisation has a high content of carbon monoxide which is poisonous when breathed.

India is in dialogue with Israel for concluding a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Bilateral free trade agreements are being negotiated with the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. 

India currently has Bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Japan and Singapore.

Mud Crab Reovirus (MCRV) has been found to be the reason for the mass mortality of wild crab (Scylla serrate) in Andhra Pradesh State.

The MCRV, known as Sleeping Disease, has taken a toll on wild crab in every farming method; Crab Fattening, Crab polyculture in which shrimp and wild crab are cultured in the same pond and exclusive mud crab ponds.

The MCRV is responsible for the mass mortality of wild crabs. The viral pathogen belongs to the family of ‘Reoviridae’. It mainly affects the connective tissue of hepatopancreas, gills, and intestine.

The Election Commission has enhanced the existing election expenditure limit for candidates in Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies.

• These limits will be applicable in all upcoming elections.
• The ceiling on parliamentary poll expenditure has been raised from 70 lakh to 95 lakh rupees in bigger states and 54 lakh to 75 lakhs in smaller states.
• The bigger states include Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka, and the smaller states include Goa, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and UTs.
• The ceiling on poll expenditure in UT of Jammu and Kashmir has been raised to 95 lakhs.
• For Assembly constituencies, expenditure limits have been enhanced from 28 lakh rupees 40 lakh rupees in bigger states and from 20 lakhs to 28 lakhs in smaller states.
• Last major revision in the election expenditure limit was carried out in 2014, which was further increased by 10 percent in 2020. EC had formed a Committee to study the cost factors and other related issues, and make suitable recommendations.
• Hence both statements are correct.