Daily Current Affairs MCQ- April 30, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) organises 2 days’ workshop in Jharkhand on ADIGRAMS (Adivasi Grants Management System) on 27th and 28th April 2022.

• Adivasi Grants Management System (ADIGRAMS) Portal will provide a central database for Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the State Tribal Development/ Welfare Department to access, interact and analyse up-to-date scheme wise Physical and financial information and progress.
• The portal will enable the officials/stakeholders at Central, State, District, Block and village level to access, monitor and measure performance in a real-time basis and take decisions accordingly.

This portal covers the following schemes of MoTA:

• Grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution of India
• Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Tribal Sub-Scheme (TSS)
• Scheme for development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
• Institutional Support for Development and Marketing of Tribal Produce
• Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Development of Value Chain for MFP (MSP for MFPs)

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Union Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh today launched ‘Azadi Se Antyodaya Tak’, a 90-day campaign with a mission to saturate 75 Districts across 28 States/UTs with beneficiary schemes of 09 central ministries.

• Celebrating the spirit of the year- long Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM), the identified districts are aligned with the birth place of 99 Freedom Fighters, who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation during India’s struggle for independence.
• The goal of the campaign is to take up 17 select schemes with direct assistance to beneficiaries in saturation mode, reaching out to the person at the bottom of the pyramid in rural areas by each of the participating ministries/departments.
• The 75 districts, marginally lagging behind in the development parameters, have been shortlisted through MPCE (Monthly per Capita Indicators) and D5/D7 SECC-2011 (Socio-Economic Caste Census) data.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that India’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) has fallen to just 40% from an already low 47% in 2016.

• This suggests not only that more than half of India’s population in the working-age group (15 years and older) is deciding to sit out of the job market, but also that this proportion of people is increasing.
• According to the CMIE, the labour force consists of persons who are of age 15 years or older, and belong to either of the following two categories:
  • are employed
  • are unemployed and are willing to work and are actively looking for a job
• There is a crucial commonality between the two categories — they both have people “demanding” jobs. This demand is what LFPR refers to. While those in category 1 succeed in getting a job, those in category 2 fail to do so.
• Thus, the LFPR essentially is the percentage of the working-age (15 years or older) population that is asking for a job; it represents the “demand” for jobs in an economy. It includes those who are employed and those who are unemployed.
• The Unemployment Rate (UER), which is routinely quoted in the news, is nothing but the number of unemployed (category 2) as a proportion of the labour force.

Hence both statements are correct.

To commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Agriculture is organizing a week long special campaign on ‘Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari’ to create awareness on various schemes and their benefits for the farming community across the country.

• As part of the campaign, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Ministry of Rural Development will hold wide range of awareness activities tomorrow.
• As part of the campaign, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare will organize demonstration on farm machinery through their FMTTIs (Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute) at different locations across the country tomorrow.
• FMTTIs will also impart training to the women farmers simultaneously. Along with the physical field visits, online webinar will also be organised to provide interface between innovators and industries.
• The Ministry will organise field visits to Sunflower cultivation sites in Ambala Kurukshetra (Haryana) Fatehgarh Saheb (Punjab) and mustard farms in Jammu, Kathua and Udhampur (JK).
• Kisan Goshti programmes will also be organised to make farmers aware about the benefits of cultivation of cash crops.
• Training on microrhizome based disease free planting material production in Ginger and Turmeric will be provided by Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development at Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

• Retail prices of petrol and diesel are made up of mainly 3 components:
  • Base price (reflecting cost of international oil)
  • Central Excise Duty
  • State Tax (VAT)
• Central and state taxes form a major chunk of the price of petrol and diesel in India.
• Excise duty is constant all over India, state taxes (sales tax and value-added tax) vary depending upon the rates levied by different state governments.
• These taxes make fuel even more costly for consumers.
• Hence, Option D is correct.

Brahmos Missile

• BrahMos is a joint venture between the Defense Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) and the NPOM of Russia. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• BrahMos is named for the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva.
• It is a two-stage (solid propellant engine in the first stage and liquid ramjet in second) missile.
• It is a multiplatform missile i.e it can be launched from land, air, and sea and multi capability missile with pinpoint accuracy that works in both day and night irrespective of the weather conditions. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• It operates on the "Fire and Forgets" principle i.e., it does not require further guidance after launch.
• Brahmos is one of the fastest cruise missiles currently operationally deployed with speed of Mach 2.8, which is nearly 3 times more than the speed of sound.

Palm Oil

• Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• It is used as cooking oil, and in everything from cosmetics, processed foods, cakes, chocolates, spreads, soaps, shampoo, and cleaning products to biofuel.
• The use of crude palm oil in making biodiesel is being branded as ‘green diesel’.
• Indonesia and Malaysia together account for almost 90% of the global palm oil production, with Indonesia producing the largest quantity at over 45 million Tonnes in 2021. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• The oil palm industry has come under criticism for what are unsustainable production practices leading to deforestation, and exploitative labor practices carried forward from the colonial era.
• However, palm oil is preferred by many as it is inexpensive, oil palms produce more oil per hectare than some other vegetable oil plants like soybean.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the centre is keen on completely lifting the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 from the northeast.

• The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enacted in 1958 to bring under control what the government of India considered disturbed areas.
• AFSPA can be implemented in an area after it has been declared as disturbed.
  Under its provisions, the armed forces have been empowered to:
• Open fire; enter and search without warrant, and arrest any person who has committed a cognisable offence.
  Prosecution of the officer on duty needs prior permission of the Central Government.

Hence both statements are correct.

Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated SemiconIndia Conference 2022, the global semiconductor conclave designed to bring together key stakeholders to showcase existing capabilities, ideate innovations and discuss global best practices.

• The flagship conclave with the theme Catalyzing India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem, is being held in Bengaluru from 29th April to 1st May 2022.
• Inaugurating the conference, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India said, We have earmarked USD 10 billion for India Semiconductor Mission and are creating an environment that encourages growth to create a vibrant semiconductor ecosystem and steer India into the future.”
• The conference aligns with the larger national narratives such as Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat and is pegged as the launchpad to India Semiconductor Mission (ISM).
• IESA launched an industry report on ‘Semiconductor manufacturing supply chain – India’s opportunity in the global market”.

During the conference, the below Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) were inked:

• MOU signed between SEMI and ELCINA to promote semiconductor ecosystem in India
• MOU between CDAC and Qualcomm for partnership in semiconductors which will target semiconductor design startups, in line with the objectives of the PLI scheme
• MOU between AICTE and SEMI and ISM for training and skilling tech workforce for the semiconductor sector.

Hence both statements are correct.

Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has launched the ‘National Behaviour Change Communication Framework for Garbage Free Cities’ to strengthen the ongoing jan andolan for ‘Garbage Free Cities’.

• Now, under SBM-U 2.0, the newly launched ‘National Behaviour Change Communication Framework for Garbage Free Cities’ shall serve as a guiding document and blueprint for States and Cities to undertake large scale multimedia campaigns along with intensive and focused inter-personal communication campaigns.
• The framework focuses on intensifying messaging around the key focus areas of source segregation, collection, transportation, and processing of waste, plastic waste management, and remediation of legacy dumpsites to truly transform the urban landscape of India.

Hence both statements are correct.