Daily Current Affairs MCQ- October 6, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The government recently cut the windfall tax on domestically-produced crude oil to Rs 8,000 per tonne from Rs 10,500, and halved the levy on export of diesel to Rs 5 per litre.

• The taxes were introduced on July 1, as the Centre felt that elevated crude prices were allowing oil companies to make windfall profits, and that the exchequer must get a share of such gains.
• The reduction in tax rates follows the easing of crude oil prices in international markets.

Windfall tax        

• A windfall tax is a tax levied by governments against certain industries when economic conditions allow those industries to experience above-average profits.
• The idea is to target firms that were lucky enough to benefit from something they were not responsible for - in other words, a windfall.
• In other words, windfall tax is imposed on companies that have seen their profits extraordinarily not because of any clever investment decision or an increase in efficiency or innovation, but simply because of favourable market conditions.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 55.1 in September from 56.2 in August 2022.

• It was the 15th straight month the figure was above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction. 
• The survey pointed out that Indian businesses become more confident in the outlook as inflation worries were tamed.
• The overall level of positive sentiment seen in September was the best in over seven-and-a-half years, according to the survey. 

Purchasing Managers’ Index

• Purchasing Managers’ Index or PMI is an economic indicator, which is derived after monthly surveys of different companies.
• The index shows trends in both the manufacturing and services sector.
• The index helps in determining whether the market conditions, as seen by purchasing managers, is expanding, contracting or staying the same.
• It is used to provide information regarding the current and future business conditions.
• PMI is one of the closely watched indicators of business activity and helps in predicting the economic health of a country.
• There are two types of PMI — Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI. A combined index is also made using both manufacturing PMI and services PMI.
• A PMI number greater than 50 indicates expansion in business activity. A number less than 50 shows contraction. The rate of expansion is also judged by the difference from the mid-point (50) and also by previous month’s data.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Election Commission to launch Matadata Junction on All India Radio.

• It is a year-long voter awareness program.
• The Matadata Junction program will be broadcast in 23 languages across the country. 
• The weekly program covers all aspects of the Voter ecosystem and shall be broadcast every Friday on the All India Radio network.
• Each Program will be based on a particular Theme on the Electoral process.
• All the 52 Themes are aimed at encouraging all eligible citizens and especially the young and first time voters to vote and make an informed decision during the elections. 
• The program includes a Citizen's Corner where any citizen can ask a query or suggest any aspects of the voting.

Hence both statements are correct.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE's) advanced visa system is set to come into effect on October 3, 2022.

• Under UAE's new immigration laws, the five-year green visa will allow foreigners to sponsor themselves without any help from UAE nationals or their employers. Freelancers, skilled workers, and investors are eligible for this visa.
• Now, green visa holders can sponsor their family members themselves.
• If the permit for a green visa holder expires, they will be given a period of up to six months to renew it.
• A 10-year expanded residency is also offered under the golden visa. Investors, entrepreneurs, and individuals with exceptional talents are eligible for a golden visa.
• According to the new immigration laws, golden visa holders will also enjoy the benefit of 100% ownership of their business. 
• Tourist visas will allow the visitors to stay in UAE for 60 days, as per new rules.  
• A five-year multi-entry tourist visa will allow visitors to stay in the UAE for up to 90 days in a row. 
• And the job exploration visa will also allow professionals to seek employment opportunities in the UAE without a sponsor or host.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

According to a study published in the ‘Science’, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science there is a changing chemistry of the western region of the Arctic Ocean after discovering acidity levels increasing three to four times faster than ocean waters elsewhere.

• The team of researchers identified a strong correlation between the accelerated rate of melting ice and the rate of ocean acidification.
• Scientists have predicted that by 2050, Arctic sea ice in this region will no longer survive the increasingly warm summers. 
• As a result, the ocean’s chemistry will grow more acidic, creating life-threatening problems for the diverse population of sea creatures, plants and other living things that depend on a healthy ocean. Crabs, for example, live in a crusty shell built from the calcium carbonate prevalent in ocean water. 
• Seawater is normally alkaline, with a pH value of around 8.1.
• The researchers point to sea-ice melt as the key mechanism to explain this rapid pH decrease, because it changes surface water in three primary ways.
  • First, the water under the sea ice, which had a deficit of carbon dioxide, now is exposed to the atmospheric carbon dioxide and can take it up freely.
  • The seawater mixed with meltwater is light and can’t mix easily into deeper waters, which means the carbon dioxide is concentrated at the surface.
  • The meltwater dilutes the carbonate ion concentration in the seawater, weakening its ability to neutralise the carbon dioxide into bicarbonate and rapidly decreasing ocean pH.

Hence both statements are correct.

The disbursal of small business loans under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) logged a record 30 per cent growth in the first half of the current fiscal ended September compared to the same period last year.

• It is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, launched on 8th April, 2015.
• It is a Financial Inclusion (FI) programme in the country based on three pillars - Banking the Unbanked, Securing the Unsecured and Funding the Unfunded.

Types of loans:

• Shishu - Covering loans up to Rs 50,000; 
• Kishor - Covering loans above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 5 lakh; 
• Tarun - Covering loans above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh.

Eligibility:

• Any Indian Citizen who has a business plan for a non-farm sector income generating activities such as manufacturing, processing, trading or service sector.
• They can avail from all Public Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks and Cooperative Banks, Private Sector Banks, Foreign Banks, Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) and Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) up to Rs 10 lakhs Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd. (MUDRA) loans under PMMY.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology for the year 2022 “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution”.

• He has spearheaded the development of new techniques that allowed researchers to compare the genome of modern humans and that of other hominins — the Neanderthals and Denisovans.
• He spent decades trying to extract DNA from 40,000-year-old bones, culminating in the unveiling of the Neanderthal genome in 2010.
• The research helped establish that modern humans and Neanderthals share a common ancestor that lived some 600,000 years ago. Paabo and his team also found genetic evidence that, during periods of coexistence, modern humans and Neanderthals had children together.
• His seminal research gave rise to an entirely new scientific discipline; paleogenomics. 
• His research led to the understanding that archaic gene sequences from our extinct relatives influence the physiology of present-day humans.
  • One such example is the Denisovan version of the gene EPAS1, which confers an advantage for survival at high altitude and is common among present-day Tibetans.
  • Other examples are Neanderthal genes that affect our immune response to different types of infections.

Hence both statements are correct.

India's merchandise export grew by over 15 % from April to September, 2022.

• India’s merchandise export has grown by over 15 per cent to 229 billion US dollar from April to September this year in comparison to the same period last year.
• The country has achieved merchandise export of over 32 billion dollars in September this year with a decrease of 3.52 per cent in comparison to the same month last year. 
• The export of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery from April to September this year was over 158 billion dollars, an increase of 5.53 per cent over the same period last year.

Hence both statements are correct.

The last date for submission of application for ‘National Means cum Merit Scholarship scheme for the year 2022-23 extended till 15th October, 2022’.

• It is a Central Sector Scheme that was launched in 2008.
• Objective: Award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education at secondary stage. 
• Features: One lakh fresh scholarships are awarded to selected students of class IX every year and their continuation / renewal in classes X to XII for study in State Government, Government-aided and Local body schools under the scheme. The amount of scholarship is Rs. 12000/- per annum from 1st April 2017 (earlier it was Rs. 6000/- per annum).
• The Cabinet has approved continuation of the Scheme from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26 with total allocation of Rs.1827 crores.

Hence both statements are correct.

President Draupadi Murmu launches 'herSTART' - a start-up platform of Gujarat University for women entrepreneurs

• herSTART' is the initiative of Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council aims at supporting women-led startups.
• The platform has been launched with the aim that it will not only boost innovation and start-up efforts of women entrepreneurs but also help them connect with government as well as private enterprises.
• Through this platform, free resources and training modules free will be provided to aspiring women entrepreneurs. It will build a digital community and also a digital publication to spread their success stories.

Hence both statements are correct.