Daily Current Affairs MCQ- June 9, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy have jointly launched a National Mission on Advanced and High-Impact Research.

• The mission aims to quickly identify emerging technologies in the power sector and develop them indigenously, at scale, for deployment within and outside India. 
• Funding: 
• The Mission will be funded by pooling financial resources of the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Central Public Sector Enterprises under the two Ministries.
• Additional funding will be mobilized from the Government of India's budgetary resources.
• Duration: The mission is Planned for an initial period of five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28.
• Structure of the Mission: The Mission will have a two-tier structure –
• A Technical Scoping Committee:  It will be chaired by the Chairperson of the Central Electricity Authority.
• It will identify ongoing and emerging research areas globally and recommend potential technologies for development under the Mission.
• Apex Committee: It will be chaired by the Union Minister for Power & New and Renewable Energy.
• It will deliberate on the technology and products to be developed and approve the research proposal.
• Areas Identified for Research: Alternatives to Lithium-Ion storage batteries, Modifying electric cookers/pans to suit Indian cooking methods, Green hydrogen for mobility (High-Efficiency Fuel Cell), Carbon capture etc.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Financial Services Institution Bureau (FSIB) has selected new chiefs for the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) and National Insurance Company (NIC).

• What is it? It’s a government body set up under the Department of Financial Services (DFI) by replacing the Bank Board’s Bureau (BBB). 
• Structure:
• It is headed by a chairman who is nominated by the central government.
• The board would comprise the Secretaries of the DFS, the chairman of IRDAI, and a deputy governor of the RBI.
• Additionally, it will have three part-time members who are experts in banking and three more from the insurance sector.

The Primary role of FSIB:

• To identify manpower capabilities and ensure proper selection of talent for senior positions at financial institutions owned by the government.
• It is entrusted with making recommendations for the appointment of full-time directors and non-executive chairmen of state-run financial services institutions.
• The final decision on the FSIB recommendation would be taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.
• It would also issue guidelines for selecting general managers and directors of public sector general insurance companies

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the union Health Minister released the fifth State Food Safety Index in New Delhi.

• The Index is an annual assessment released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
•  It was started in 2018-19 and serves as a tool to propel States and Union Territories to enhance their performance and establish robust food safety ecosystems within their jurisdictions
• This index is based on the performance of the State/ UT on five significant parameters, namely, Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing – Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training & Capacity Building and Consumer Empowerment.
• The Index is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model that provides an objective framework for evaluating food safety across all States/UTs.
• Ranking of the States and Union Territories in the 2022 -23 Report
• Among the large state category: Kerala is the top-ranking state followed by Punjab and Tamil Nadu.
• Among the small states category: Goa is the top-ranking state followed by Manipur, and Sikkim in the Small States category.
• Among the Union Territories category: Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, and Delhi

Hence both statements are correct.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is now considering a change in the training pattern of the elite anti-Naxal unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA).

About Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA):

• It is a specialized force which has been raised for guerilla/jungle warfare type operations for dealing with Maoist and therefore also known as ‘jungle warriors’.
• Personnel for CoBRA are selected from CRPF as CoBRA is integral part of CRPF.
• They undergo rigorous commando & jungle warfare training before being posted to CoBRA BNs for anti naxal operations.
• In all there are 10 CoBRA Units Raised between 2008-2011.Most of its 10 battalions are deployed for anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand apart from some units tasked for counter-insurgency operations in the northeastern part of the country.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island erupted recently, according to an advisory from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

About Kilauea Volcano:

• It is the youngest and most active Hawaiian shield volcano, located on the southern part of the Island of Hawai'i, known as Big Island.
• It is near-constantly erupting from vents either on its summit (caldera) or on the rift zones.
• Kilauea has a large summit caldera with a central crater, Halemaumau, which is according to Hawaiian legends the home of the fire goddess Pele.
• Until 1924, it contained a lava lake.

What is a Shield Volcano?

• Shield volcanoes are a type of volcano that tend to erupt basalt lava, a type of lava that is very fluid when erupted. 
• Although shield volcanoes are the largest volcanoes on Earth, they do not form soaring mountains with conical peaks like composite volcanoes. Instead, they are broad volcanoes with gentle slopes.
• Eruptions at shield volcanoes are only explosive if water somehow gets into the vent, otherwise they are characterized by low-explosivity fountaining that forms cinder cones and spatter cones at the vent.
• The Hawaiian shield volcanoes are the most famous examples.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairman recently said that a pension scheme with minimum assured returns is in the works by the PFRDA, which may entail higher premium payments for higher returns.

About Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA):

• It is a statutory regulatory body set up under PFRDA Act enacted in 2014.
• Objective: To promote old age income security by establishing, developing, and regulating pension funds and to protect the interests of subscribers to schemes of pension funds and related matters.
• It  comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Composition: It consists of a Chairperson and not more than six members, of whom at least three shall be Whole-Time Members, to be appointed by the Central Government.
• Functions:
• Regulate National Pension System (NPS) and other pension schemes to which PFRDA Act applies;
• Establish, develop and regulate pension funds;
• Protect the interest of pension fund subscribers;
• Register and regulate intermediaries;
• Laying down norms for management of corpus of pension funds;
• Establish grievance redressal mechanism for subscribers;
• Settle disputes among intermediaries and also between intermediaries and subscribers;
• Train intermediaries and educate subscribers and the general public with respect to pension, retirement savings, and related issues;
• Call for information, conduct inquiries, investigations, and audit of intermediaries and other entities connected with pension funds;

Hence both statements are correct.

The Reserve Bank on Wednesday expanded the trade receivables discounting system (TReDS) by permitting insurance companies to function as participants.

About Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform:

• It is an electronic platform for facilitating the financing/discounting of trade receivables of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through multiple financiers. 
• These receivables can be due from corporates and other buyers, including Government Departments and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
• Purpose: To allow MSME sellers to discount invoices raised against major corporations, which helps them manage their working capital demands. The platform enables MSMEs to receive payments more quickly.
• Participants:
• Sellers, buyers, and financiers are the participants on a TReDS platform.
• Only MSMEs can participate as sellers in TReDS.
• Corporates, Government Departments, PSUs, and any other entity can participate as buyers in TReDS.
• Banks, NBFC - Factors, and other financial institutions, as permitted by the RBI, can participate as financiers in TReDS.
• RBI has not made it compulsory for any buyer, seller, or financier to participate in TReDS. 
• The Government has made it compulsory for certain segments of companies to mandatorily register as buyers on the TReDS platform(s). The government directive, however, does not make it compulsory for these entities to perform transactions in TReDS.
• How does TReDS work?
• Creation of a Factoring Unit (FU) - standard nomenclature used in TReDS for invoice(s) or bill(s) of exchange - containing details of invoices/bills of exchange.
• Acceptance of the FU by the counterparty - buyer or the seller, as the case may be;
• Bidding by financiers;
• Selection of best bid by the seller or the buyer, as the case may be;
• Payment made by the financier (of the selected bid) to the MSME seller at the agreed rate of financing/discounting;
• Payment by the buyer to the financier on the due date.

What are Trade receivables?

• Trade receivables are defined as the amount owed to a business by its customers following the sale of goods or services on credit. 

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, Aadhaar cards being misused to create beneficiaries under Per Drop More Crop Scheme in Jharkhand state has been revealed.

• It was launched in 2015 to improve farm productivity and ensure better utilization of the resources in the country.
• Objectives
• Convergence of investment in irrigation at the field level.
• Expand cultivable area under irrigation.
• Improve On-farm water use efficiency to reduce the wastage of water.
• Enhance the adoption of being precise in irrigation and other water-saving technologies (more crop per drop).
• It consists of two major components namely,
• Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP).
• Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP): It consists of four sub-components, being Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM), Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI), Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies, and Ground Water (GW) Development component.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, New Generation Ballistic Missile ‘Agni Prime’ was successfully flight-tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island.

• It is a short-range ballistic missile that will have a range of 1000 km to 1500 km.
• It is a surface to a surface missile that can carry a payload of around 1,000 Kg or a nuclear warhead.
• It incorporates new propulsion systems and composite rocket motor
  casings as well as advanced navigation and guidance systems.
• Ballistic Missiles are launched directly into the upper layers of the earth’s atmosphere.
• They travel outside the atmosphere, where the warhead detaches from the missile and falls towards a predetermined target.
• They are rocket-propelled self-guided weapons systems which can carry conventional or nuclear munitions. They can be launched from aircraft, ships and submarines, and land.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the union government of India approved the continuation of the central sector plan 'Exploration of Coal and Lignite scheme' with an estimated expenditure of ₹2,980 crore.

• The period for the extension is from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• Under this scheme, exploration for coal and lignite is conducted in two broad stages: (i) Promotional (Regional) Exploration and (ii) Detailed Exploration in non-Coal India Limited blocks.
• Benefits of the scheme
• This scheme is required to prove and estimate coal resources available in the country, which helps in preparing detailed project reports to start coal mining. 
• The geological reports prepared through these explorations are used for auctioning new coal blocks, and the cost is thereafter recovered from successful allocatee.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.