Daily Current Affairs MCQ- September 10, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Supreme Court ordered the Central government to decide on the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, sentenced to death for the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, preferably within two months.

• As per the Constitutional framework in India, mercy petition to the President is the last constitutional resort a convict can take when he is sentenced by the court of law.
• A convict can present a mercy petition to the President of India under Article 72 of the Constitution of India.
• Similarly, the power to grant pardon is conferred upon the Governors of States under Article 161 of the Constitution of India.
• Previously, the governor cannot pardon the death sentence, which only the Indian President can do. But recently on 3rd August 2021, the Supreme Court held that the Governor of a State can pardon prisoners, including death row ones, even before they have served a minimum of 14 years of a prison sentence.
• The recent judgement regarding the Governor’s power to pardon overrides a provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure (Section 433A) which mandates that a prisoner’s sentence can be remitted only after 14 years of jail.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

On May 1, 2022 Delhi University marked the beginning of its centennial celebrations.

• The idea for the university began taking shape in 1911 when it was decided to shift the capital of India to Delhi from Calcutta. The onset of World War I, differences over the nature of the would-be university, and lack of funds kept the idea from coming to fruition for another 11 years.
• On January 16, 1922, the Delhi University Bill was introduced in the Imperial Legislative Assembly with the objective of establishing a unitary teaching and residential university in the capital of British India.
• At that time, Delhi had three arts colleges — St Stephen’s College, which was founded in 1882 by the Cambridge Mission; Hindu College, which was founded in 1899; and Ramjas College which was founded in 1917 — and Lady Hardinge Medical College.
• These three colleges were to become the first constituent colleges of the university.
• The Bill was passed by the Assembly on February 22, and by the Council of States on February 28. The Viceroy gave his assent on April 6, and the DU Act came into force on May 1, 1922, with Viceroy Lord Reading as the first Chancellor and Hari Singh Gour as the first Vice-Chancellor.
• DU began with just two faculties — arts and science — and eight departments — English, history, economics, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, physics, and chemistry.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the government is providing a 50 percent subsidy to SC-ST, small and marginal, women and farmers of north-eastern states to buy drones.

• Mr Tomar said this while addressing the conference on Promoting Kisan Drones organized as part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' in New Delhi. The government is promoting the use of Kisan Drone for crop assessment, digitization of land records, and spraying of pesticides and nutrients.
• He said, for other farmers, financial assistance will be given up to 40 percent or a maximum of four lakh rupees to buy drones.
• Financial assistance @ 100 % cost of drone is extended under Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) to the Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes, Institutions of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) for its demonstration on the farmer’s fields.
• Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) are provided grants @ 75% for purchase of drones for its demonstration on the farmers’ fields.
• Hence both statements are correct.

In Weightlifting, Harshada Sharad Garud scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal at the IWF Junior World Championships at Heraklion in Greece.

• She lifted 153-kilogram in the 45-kilogram weight category, which included 70 kilograms in Snatch and 83 kilograms in Clean and Jerk to finish on top of the podium.
• Before Harshada, there are only two Indians to win a medal in IWF Junior World Championships. Mirabai Chanu had won a bronze in 2013 and Achinta Sheuli won a silver medal last year.

International Weightlifting Federation (IWF)

• The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), headquartered in Lausanne, is the international governing body for the sport of Olympic weightlifting.
• The IWF was founded in 1905.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz today co-chaired the sixth edition of the India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations-IGC in Berlin.

• The biennial IGC is a unique dialogue format that also sees participation of several Ministers from both sides.
• This was the Prime Minister’s first IGC with Chancellor Scholz and also the first such Government-to-Government consultations of the new German Government, which assumed office in December last year.
• Mr Modi expressed happiness that his first foregn visit this year was to Germany.
• He informed that Germany has committed to support Green Goal Plans of India. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz invited Prime Minister Modi for G-7 summit to be held in Germany.
• Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Scholz signed the Joint Declaration of Intent establishing the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership.
• This Partnership envisages a whole-of-government approach to India-Germany cooperation on SDGs and climate action, under which Germany has agreed to make an advance commitment of 10 billion Euros of new and additional development assistance until 2030.
• This JDI will also create a Ministerial mechanism within the framework of the IGC to provide high-level coordination and political direction to the Partnership. A number of agreements were concluded during the Ministerial bilateral meetings.

Hence both statements are correct.

National Open Access Registry (NOAR) has successfully gone live from 1st May 2022.

• NOAR is an integrated single window electronic platform accessible to all stakeholders including open access participants, traders, power exchanges, national/regional/state load despatch centres for electronic processing of short-term open access application thereby automating the administration of the short-term open access in inter-state transmission system.
• The NOAR platform shall act as a repository of information related to short term open access in inter-state transmission including standing clearance issued by RLDCs or SLDCs and short-term open access granted to the open access customers etc. and make such information available to the stakeholders online.
• National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) operated by Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) has been designated as the nodal agency for implementation and operation of NOAR.
• NOAR would be the key to facilitate faster electricity markets and enable integration of Renewable Energy (RE) resources into the grid.
• NOAR is part of the Ministry of Power, Government of India’s initiative and the required regulatory framework has been notified by the CERC through operationalization of the 5th Amendment Regulation of Open Access in inter- State Transmission.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Five years after the strategic partnership (SP) model was introduced to increase indigenous defence manufacturing through collaboration with international arms firms, not a single project has been launched under the much-touted 'Make in India' strategy.

In a major policy reform intended to promote Make in India in defence manufacturing, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in 2017 the much-anticipated SP model for the Indian private sector.

The model, which was first proposed by the Dhirendra Singh Committee (in its 2015 report), is included in the Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 (DPP 2016).

The model seeks to identify a few Indian private companies as Strategic Partners who would initially tie up with a few shortlisted foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to manufacture big-ticket military platforms.

In the initial phase, the selection of Strategic Partners would be confined to four segments - Fighter Aircraft, Helicopters, Submarines and Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV)/Main Battle Tanks (MBT).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Lokpal of India will finally move into its new permanent office at the World Trade Centre in Nauroji Nagar of south Delhi.

• The office has been purchased for ₹254.88 crore, according to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the administrative Ministry for the Lokpal.
• On March 19, 2019, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh was appointed India’s first Lokpal along with eight other members.
• The appointment itself was made five years after the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act was passed in 2013 to investigate cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants.
• The Lokpal can inquire into allegations of corruption against anyone who is or has been Prime Minister, or a Minister in the Union government, or a Member of Parliament, as well as officials of the Union government under Groups A, B, C and D.
• The body also covers complaints against chairpersons, members, officers and directors of any board or autonomous body either established by an Act of Parliament and any society or trust or body that receives foreign contribution above ₹10 lakh.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India exported merchandise estimated at $38.19 billion in April 2022, a 24.2% increase from a year earlier but 9.5% lower than the record $42.2 billion shipped out in March, official estimates released.

• The trade deficit, however, expanded to $20.07 billion from $18.5 billion in March, as imports grew at a faster 26.6% pace to $58.26 billion. Sequentially, goods imports declined 4.1% last month from March’s level.
• Gold imports fell by a sharp 73% year-on-year to just $1.7 billion, even as coal imports more than doubled to over $4.7 billion from $2 billion a year earlier.
• Petroleum imports comprising crude and products surged 81.2% to exceed $19.5 billion, and made up a third of the total imports in the month.
• India’s goods exports hit a record $420 billion in 2021-22, while imports also hit an all-time high of about $612 billion, leading to a $192 billion deficit in the last financial year.
• Although the non-oil trade deficit remained stable in April, there was a shift in its composition, with a plunge in gold imports being offset by a rise in non-oil, non-gold imports such as coal and chemicals, an unsavoury yet expected fallout of the higher commodity prices engendered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• Among India’s top 10 export commodities, gems and jewellery exports dipped by a marginal 2.1% in April, while rice exports fell 14.24%.

Hence both statements are correct.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held delegation-level talks with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen of Denmark.

• Both leaders reviewed the progress of the Green Strategic Partnership which was the first of its kind arrangement between India and Denmark. During the India-Denmark Virtual Summit in October 2020, the two sides gave their relationship the status of a Green Strategic Partnership.
• Prime Ministers of two sides participated in India-Denmark Business Forum with top business leaders from the two countries at the Confederation of Danish Industry.
• Earlier nine agreements were inked between the two countries in various sectors.

List of agreements signed/announced during the visit of Prime Minister to Denmark

1. Declaration of Intent (DoI) on Migration and Mobility
2. Letter of Intent (LoI) between Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, GOI and Ministry of Business, Industry and Financial Affairs of Denmark on Centre of Excellence in Green Shipping
3. Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) between the Ministry of Culture, GoI and Ministry of Culture of Denmark for the years 2022-2026
4. Letter of Intent (LoI) of between Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Environment of Denmark
5. MoU on Cooperation in the field of Skill Development, Vocational Education and Entrepreneurship
6. Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) on Cooperation in the fields of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
7. Launch of Energy Policy Dialogue at Ministerial level
8. India to join as mission partner to ICARS (International Centre for Anti-Microbial Resistance Solution)
9. Letter of Intent between Invest India and Technical University of Denmark to facilitate start-up collaboration

2nd India-Nordic Summit

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the 2nd India-Nordic Summit along with Prime Ministers of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
• The summit will be hosted by Denmark.
• The Summit will focus on subjects like post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, innovation and technology, renewable energy, the evolving global security scenario and India-Nordic cooperation in the Arctic region.
• Nordic countries are important partners for India in sustainability, renewable energy, digitisation and innovation. The visit will help in expanding India's multifaceted cooperation with the Nordic region.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.