Daily Current Affairs MCQ - August 17, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Earthquakes have been wreaking havoc in Haiti since at least the 18th century, when the city of Port-au-Prince was destroyed twice in 19 years. Recent powerful quake killed hundreds and injured thousands more.

• The Earth’s crust is made up of tectonic plates that move. And Haiti sits near the intersection of two of them — the North American plate and the Caribbean plate.
• Earthquakes can occur when those plates move against each other and create friction.
• Multiple fault lines between those plates cut through or near the island of Hispaniola, which Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic. What’s worse, not all of those fault lines behave the same way.
• Haiti is also densely populated.
• Plus, many of its buildings are designed to withstand hurricanes, not earthquakes. Those buildings can survive strong winds but are vulnerable to collapse when the ground shakes.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Indian researchers have developed a non-invasive, easy to administer, cost-effective, and patient compliant potential therapeutic strategy against Visceral Leishmaniasis.

• Their strategy based on nano carrier-based oral drugs coated with Vitamin B12 enhanced oral bioavailability and efficacy of the therapy by more than 90%.
• Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a complex infectious disease transmitted by the bite of female Phlebotomine sandflies.
• It is a neglected tropical disease that affects millions annually, making it the second most common parasitic killer after malaria.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Ministry of Power has circulated the “Draft Electricity (promoting renewable energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2021”.

• These rules are proposed for purchase and consumption of green energy including the energy from Waste-to-Energy plants.
• The draft rules have the following subheads within which details are provided: Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO); Green energy open access; Nodal Agencies; Procedure for grant of green energy open access; banking; and cross subsidy surcharge.
• The Tariff for the Green Energy shall be determined by the Appropriate Commission, which may comprise of the average pooled power purchase cost of the renewable energy, cross-subsidy charges (if any) and service charges covering all prudent cost of the distribution licensee for providing the green energy.”
• The draft rules state “Green hydrogen” is the hydrogen produced using electricity from the renewable sources. The obligated entity including the Industries can also meet their Renewable Purchase Obligation by purchasing green hydrogen.
• The quantum of green hydrogen would be computed by considering the equivalence to the Green hydrogen produced from one MWh of electricity from the renewable sources or its multiple. The norms shall be notified by the Central Commission.
• The Appropriate Commission shall put in place regulations in accordance with this Rule to provide Green Energy Open Access to consumers who are willing to consume the Green energy. All applications for open access of Green Energy shall be granted within a maximum of 15 days.
• Hence both statements are correct.

In order to boost domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has launched Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) with an outlay of Rs 400 crore for creating state-of-the-art testing infrastructure in partnership with the private industry.

• The scheme was launched by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh on May 08, 2020.
• The scheme would run for the duration of five years and envisages setting up of 6-8 Greenfield Defence Testing Infrastructure facilities that are required for defence and aerospace related production.
• The projects under the scheme will be provided with up to 75 per cent Government funding in the form of ‘Grant-in-Aid’. The remaining 25 per cent of the project cost will have to be borne by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) constituents of which will be the Indian private entities and state governments.
• In this regard, Department of Defence Production/Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DDP/DGQA) has published eight Expression of Interest (EOIs) catering to setting up of defence test facilities in selected domains.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Union Agriculture Minister inaugurated the world's second-largest refurbished gene bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Pusa, New Delhi.

• The National Gene Bank established in the year 1996 to preserve the seeds of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) for future generations, has the capacity to preserve about one million germplasm in the form of seeds.
• Presently it is protecting 4.52 lakh accessions, of which 2.7 lakh are Indian germplasm and the rest have been imported from other countries.
• National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources is meeting the need of in-situ and ex-situ germplasm conservation through Delhi Headquarters and 10 regional stations in the country.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

• The slender lorises (Loris) are a genus of loris native to India and Sri Lanka. Hence, statement1 is correct.
• Slender lorises spend most of their life in trees, traveling along the tops of branches with slow and precise movements.
• They generally feed on insects, reptiles, plant shoots, and fruit.
• They are found in tropical rainforests, scrub forests, semi-deciduous forests, and swamps.
• There are two species of Slender Loris, the only members of the genus ‘Loris’:
  • Red Slender Loris (Loris tardigradus)
  • Grey Slender Loris (Loris lydekkerianus).
• It is believed that they have medicinal properties and they are captured and sold. Since there is great demand for keeping these animals as pets, they are illegally smuggled. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Habitat loss, electrocution of live wires and road accidents are other threats that have caused its populations to dwindle.
• Protection Status:
  • IUCN: Endangered,
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972: Schedule I
  • CITES: Appendix II
  • Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

• In India, a census is conducted every decade and Census 2021 will be the 16th national census of the country.
  • Census will be conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
• The earliest literature ‘Rig Veda’ reveals that some kind of population count was maintained during 800-600 BC.
• During the regime of Mughal king Akbar, the administrative report ‘Ain-e-Akbari’ included comprehensive data pertaining to population, industry, wealth and many other characteristics. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The first Census was conducted in India in 1872 (although non-synchronously in different parts) during the reign of Governor-General Lord Mayo. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • The newly established office of the registrar general and census commissioner launched and completed the first Census of India in 1881.

• Recently, the Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched an online portal TAPAS (Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services).
  • It offers various courses in the field of social defence for the capacity building of stakeholders. It is an initiative of National Institute of Social Defense (NISD).
  • It is a standard MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platform with course material such as filmed lectures and e-study material.
• The platform has been made with a quadrant approach of Video, Text, Self Assessment and Discussions.
  • The five basic courses are on Drug (Substance) Abuse Prevention, Geriatric/Elderly Care, Care and Management of Dementia, Transgender Issues and on comprehensive course on Social Defence Issues.
• Other Digital Learning initiatives:
  • SWAYAM: Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM), was launched by the Ministry of Education to provide one integrated platform and portal for online courses.
  • SWAYAM Prabha: It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education to provide 32 High Quality Educational Channels through DTH across the length and breadth of the country on a 24X7 basis.
  • NEAT: It aims to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalized and customized as per the requirements of the learner.
• Hence, option C is correct.

• Recently, the Taliban has seized Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, raising questions over the US and NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) trained Afghan Forces.
  • The Taliban have proclaimed that there will be no witch hunt, that it will respect a transitional process, and that it will work for a future Islamic system that is acceptable to all.
• Peace Talks between Taliban, Afghanistan and USA:
  • Murree Talks:
    • In 2015 the US had sent a representative to the first-ever meeting between the Taliban and the Afghan government that was hosted by Pakistan in Murree in 2015. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
      • However, the Murree talks did not progress.
  • Doha Talks:
    • In 2020, before the Doha Talks started, the Taliban had maintained that they would hold direct talks only with the US, and not with the Kabul government, which they did not recognise.
    • In the agreement, the US administration promised that it would withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by 1^st May, 2021. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
      • The deadline has been pushed to 11^th September 2021.
      • This provided the Taliban a sense of victory and demoralised the Afghan troops.
    • The Taliban promised to reduce violence, join intra-Afghan peace talks and cut all ties with foreign terrorist groups.

• The 7^th Constitutional (Amendment) Act 1956 inserted Article 350-B.
  • It provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of India.
• It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the Constitution.
• Hence, both statements 1 and 2 are correct.