Daily Current Affairs MCQ - April 30, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

• Python-5 Missile has been developed by the Israeli defence company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is the newest member of the Python family. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Python-5 Missile is a fifth generation air-to-air missile that provides the pilot engaging enemy aircraft with a revolutionary full sphere launch capability. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • It can be launched from very short to beyond-visual ranges with greater kill probability, excellent resistance to countermeasures, irrespective of evasive target manoeuvers or deployment of countermeasures.
  • It is a dual use missile suitable for air-to-air and surface-to-air missions
  • It is powered by a solid propellant rocket engine. The propulsion system provides a speed of Mach 4 and an operational range of more than 20 km.
  • It is also equipped with lock-on-before launch (LOBL) and lock-on-after launch (LOAL) capabilities.

• Recently, Indian Scientists have developed a high-yielding and pest-resistant variety of soybean, called MACS 1407.
  • Using the conventional cross breeding technique, scientists developed MACS 1407 which gives 39 quintals per hectare making it a high yielding variety.
  • It requires an average 43 days for 50% flowering and takes 104 days to mature from the date of sowing. Hence, option D is correct.
  • It has white coloured flowers, yellow seeds and black hilum. Its seeds have 19.81% oil content, 41% protein content and show good germinability.
  • Its thick stem, higher pod insertion (7 cm) from ground, and resistance to pod shattering make it suitable even for mechanical harvesting.
• It is suitable for rain-fed conditions of north- east India.
  • It is suitable for cultivation in the states of Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and North-Eastern states.
• Variety is also resistant to major insect-pests like girdle beetle, leaf miner, leaf roller, stem fly, aphids, white fly and defoliators.
• Its seeds will be made available to farmers for sowing during the 2022 Kharif season.
  • It is highly adaptive to sowing from 20 June to 5 July without any yield loss. This makes it resistant to the vagaries of Monsoon as compared to other varieties.

• Recently, the United Nations and other agencies (like WHO and UNICEF) have launched the Immunisation Agenda 2030 (IA2030) during the World Immunisation Week. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • It sets an ambitious, overarching global vision and strategy for vaccines and immunization for the decade 2021–2030.
  • It will contribute to achieving the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals specifically SDG 3 i.e. Good Health and Well being.
• The IA2030 is based on learnings from Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP). It aims to address the unmet targets of the GVAP that were initially to be fulfilled as part of the global immunisation strategy of the ‘Decade of vaccines’ (2011–2020).
  • GVAP was developed to help realize the vision of the Decade of Vaccines, that all individuals and communities enjoy lives free from vaccine preventable diseases.
• The IA2030 will focus on a ‘bottoms-up’ approach, in contrast to the GVAP that followed a ‘top-down’ one.
  • It will give priority to populations that are not currently being reached, particularly the most marginalised communities, those living in fragile and conflict-affected settings and mobile populations, such as those moving across borders. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

• Since it is a code of conduct framed on the basis of a consensus among political parties, it has not been given any legal backing.
• Although a committee of Parliament recommended that the code should be made a part of the Representation of the People Act 1951, the ECI did not agree to it on the ground that once it becomes a part of law, all matters connected with the enforcement of the code will be taken to court, which would delay elections.

While the Consumer Price Index-based retail inflation — the more widely tracked policy tool — looks at the price at which the consumer buys goods, the WPI tracks prices at the wholesale, or factory gate/mandi levels. Between the wholesale price and the retail price, the difference essentially is the former only tracks basic prices devoid of transportation cost, taxes and the retail margin etc. And that WPI pertains to only goods, not services.

So, the WPI basically captures the average movement of wholesale prices of goods and is primarily used as a GDP deflator (the ratio of the value of goods an economy produces in a particular year at current prices to that of prices that prevailed during the base year).

In recent years, the WPI and CPI have shown a degree of dissonance, given that the WPI has a higher weight of manufactured goods and the CPI has a greater constitution of food items. 

WPI numbers are not the RBI’s main metric for the purpose of setting monetary policy.

The RBI proposed to enable, in a phased manner, payment system operators like mobile wallets regulated by the central bank to take direct membership in RTGS and NEFT.

China is the largest rice producer in the world followed by India.

India is the largest exporter of rice in the world.
(India’s rice exports - Volume in million tonnes and Value in billion dollars)

• The term "Corporate Social Responsibility" in general can be referred to as a corporate initiative to assess and take responsibility for the company's effects on the environment and impact on social welfare.
• In India, the concept of CSR is governed by clause 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • India is the first country in the world to mandate CSR spending along with a framework to identify potential CSR activities.
• The CSR provisions within the Act is applicable to companies with an annual turnover of 1,000 crore and more, or a net worth of Rs. 500 crore and more, or a net profit of Rs. 5 crore and more. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

International Dance Day is a global celebration of dance, created by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute, the main partner for the performing arts of UNESCO.

Several dance events and festivals held on this date all over the globe.

The International Dance Day 2021 theme is: ‘Purpose of dance’.

The event takes place every year on 29 April, which is the anniversary of the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet.

International Dance Day was started to spread the message of the benefits of dance, celebrate dance and bring people together.

International Dance Day on April 29th is an annual celebration of how dancing positively impacts our lives.

The human body’s ability to move, groove, pop, and lock has captivated the way we interact with music and express ourselves artistically.

Defence Research & Development Organisation, DRDO will set up 500 Medical Oxygen Plants within 3 months under the PM CARES Fund.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed that the Medical Oxygen Plant technology developed by DRDO for On‐Board Oxygen Generation for Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas will now help in fighting the current crisis of Oxygen for the COVID-19 patients.

Mr. Singh appreciated the DRDO for using its technology to generate much needed oxygen for COVID-19 patients which he said will help in overcoming the present crisis.