Daily Current Affairs MCQ- November 23, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Central government on refuted the news reports claiming inaccuracies in NHA and reduction in out-of-pocket expenditure by terming it “misleading and incorrect.”

• It provide detailed information on expenditure incurred within the health sector of the country. It is a tool to describe health expenditures and the flow of funds in both Government and private sector in the country.
• The NHA estimates are prepared by using an accounting framework based on the internationally accepted standard of System of Health Accounts, 2011, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• NHA 2018-19 is the 6th round of estimates in the series of annual Health Accounts for India.
• It is published by the National Health Systems Resource Centre under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Hence both statements are correct.

Bureau of Indian Standards signs MoU with Testing, Inspection, Certification Council to promote and harmonise the implementation of standards and quality, safety and sustainability practices in laboratories.

• BIS is the National Standards Body of India under Department of Consumer affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
• Status: It is a statutory body established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 which came into effect on 12 October 2017.
• Functions: BIS is involved in various activities such as Standards Formulation, Product Certification Scheme, Hall Marking Scheme, Laboratory Services etc.
• HQ: New Delhi.
• The Minister in charge of the Ministry or Department having administrative control of the BIS is the ex-officio President of the BIS.

Testing, Inspection, Certification Council

• It is an international non-profit association acting as the voice of the testing, inspection and certification industry.
• The TIC Council engages governments and key stakeholders to advocate for effective solutions that protect the public, facilitate trade and support innovation

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has notified the establishment of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS).

• CGSS is aimed at providing credit guarantee up to a specified limit against loans extended by Member Institutions (MIs) to finance eligible borrowers viz. Startups. This scheme would help provide collateral-free debt funding to startups
• The credit guarantee cover under the Scheme would be transaction-based and umbrella based.
  • In transaction-based guarantee cover, the guarantee cover is obtained by the MIs on single eligible borrower basis. It will promote lending by Banks/ NBFCs to eligible startups.
  • The umbrella-based guarantee cover will provide guarantee to Venture Debt Funds (VDF) registered under AIF regulations of SEBI.
• The exposure to individual cases would be capped at Rs. 10 crore per case or the actual outstanding credit amount, whichever is less.
• DPIIT will be constituting a Management Committee (MC) and a Risk Evaluation Committee (REC) for reviewing, supervising and operational oversight of the Scheme.
• The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) will be operating the Scheme.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Last date for the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar extended to 31st October, 2022.

• The National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement was instituted in 1996 to give recognition to children with exceptional abilities and outstanding achievements in the fields of innovation, scholastic achievements, social service, arts & culture and sports.
• A medal and a cash prize are given to each awardee.
• From the year 2018, the award has been renamed as the Bal Shakti Puraskar and achievements of children in the field of bravery are also acknowledged.
• It is administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Hence both statements are correct.

As per the MoP on appointment of Chief Justice of India (CJI) and Supreme Court Judges, the Minister of Law and Justice sent a letter to the CJI for sending his recommendations for appointment of his successor.

• The MoP is the playbook agreed upon by the government and the judiciary on the appointment of judges. It is a crucial document because the Collegium system of appointing judges is a judicial innovation that is not mandated through legislation or text of the Constitution.
• The MoP has evolved as the standard based on three decisions of the Supreme Court, known as the First Judges Case (1981), Second Judges Case (1993) and the Third Judges Case (1998). These three judgments form the basis of a peer selection process for the appointment of judges.
• The MoP was first drawn up in 1999. It was re-negotiated in 2016 following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)
• MoP says that the “Union Minister of Law, Justice…would, at the appropriate time, seek the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice of India for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of India”.
• Although the MoP mentions an “appropriate time”, the process is by convention begun a month before the date of retirement of the incumbent CJI.

Hence both statements are correct.

CAQM held a review meeting to take stock of the status of commissioning of gas infrastructure/ PNG/ CNG connectivity in the NCR.

• Considering the compelling necessity to fight air pollution arising out of industrial activities and vehicles, CAQM has directed expeditious commissioning of gas infrastructure in the entire NCR well before the next winter season.
• According to the CAQM, about 74 per cent of industrial areas of NCR have gas connectivity like PNG which is cleaner and emits less pollutants as compared to the conventional fuel like coal or diesel.
• The panel directed the 11 city gas distributors to ensure that the gas infrastructure covers the entire NCR.
• The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) was established under Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act,2021.

Hence both statements are correct.

A task force set up the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has prepared a final report of its recommendations to regulate the online gaming industry in India.

• The task force has proposed the creation of a central regulatory body for the sector, clearly defining what games of skill and chance are, and bringing online gaming under the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Recommendations of the task force

• A central-level law for online gaming should apply to real money and free games of skill, including e-sports, online fantasy sports contests, and card games etc.
• Casual games with no real money element in the form of stakes may be kept outside the scope of such rules, unless they have a high number of users in India.
• Creating a regulatory body, which will determine what qualifies as a game of skill or chance, and accordingly certify different gaming formats, seek compliance etc.
• A three-tier dispute resolution mechanism, similar to that prescribed under the Information Technology Rules, 2021 for online streaming services.
• Any online gaming platform – domestic or foreign– offering real money online games to Indian users will need to be a legal entity incorporated under Indian law.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon commence pilot launches of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), referred to as Digital Rupee (e₹), for specific use cases.

• The RBI in its concept note detailed various aspects including the technological measures to operationalise its electronic currency, its underlying digital infrastructure and various technological options the central bank is exploring.

E-Rupee

• e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.
• It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-Voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the beneficiaries.
• The users of this seamless one-time payment mechanism will be able to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at the service provider.
• It has been developed by National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority.

Hence both statements are correct.

Many Egypt historians are demanding the U.K to return the 2,000-year-old Rosetta Stone.

• The Rosetta Stone is a large stone slab with inscriptions on it and is believed to be a piece of a bigger rock.
• It has inscriptions in three scripts, all of which convey a decree or public message.
• The decree is inscribed three times, in hieroglyphs (suitable for a priestly decree), Demotic (the cursive Egyptian script used for daily purposes, meaning ‘language of the people’), and Ancient Greek (the language of the administration – the rulers of Egypt at this point were Greco-Macedonian after Alexander the Great’s conquest).
• This is similar to how in Ancient India, King Ashoka ordered stambhas or edicts that had messages of Buddha’s teachings and news about victory in a war inscribed. These were then placed throughout the kingdom for the public to see.
• Its discovery that helped develop the specific field of ancient Egypt studies, Egyptology.
• According to the British Museum, the engraving was done during the reign of King Ptolemy V who ruled from 204–181 BC. 
• This stone was ‘rediscovered’ in the time of French king Napoleon Bonaparte, who launched a campaign in Egypt from 1798 to 1801.
• On Napoleon’s defeat later at the hands of the British, the Treaty of Alexandria (1801) led to its transfer and it has been at the British Museum since then.

Hence both statements are correct.

The usage of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) is 50% or less in many states even after the Union government’s order making it mandatory to record attendance of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

• National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) App was launched by the Minister of Rural Development on May, 21 2021.
• This app is aimed at bringing more transparency and ensure proper monitoring of the schemes.
• The NMMS App permits taking real time attendance of workers at Mahatma Gandhi NREGA worksites along with geo-tagged photograph.
• The app helps in increasing citizen oversight of the programme.
• The National Mobile Monitoring App is applicable for the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers for all the States/ Union Territories.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.