Daily Current Affairs MCQ- August 20, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

India confirmed a $400 million currency swap with Sri Lanka while deferring another $500 million due for settlement to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), in a move aimed at helping the island nation witnessing an unprecedented economic crisis.

• India’s assistance follows a request from Sri Lanka during Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s visit to New Delhi in December, for emergency financial assistance, including Lines of Credit for importing essentials and a currency swap to boost Sri Lanka’s draining foreign reserves.
• Sri Lanka is facing a severe dollar crunch that economists say might lead to a default on external debt and create a food shortage in the imports-reliant nation.
• Colombo must service over $7 billion outstanding debt in 2022, including bond repayments of $500 million in January and $1 billion in July.
• In July 2020, the RBI extended a similar swap facility — of $400 million — to help Sri Lanka cope with the impact of the first wave of the pandemic, and later provided a three-month roll over until February 2021, when the Central Bank of Sri Lanka settled it.
• The recent announcement on RBI assistance includes deferring the payment of $500 that Sri Lanka owes to the ACU, a regional initiative with the Central Banks and Monetary Authorities of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• Significantly, India’s confirmation of the swap comes a week after the two countries signed a long-pending agreement on jointly developing the strategically located Trincomalee oil tank farm along the north-eastern coast of the island.

Hence both statements are correct.

We are “not averse” to demilitarisation of the Siachen glacier but the pre-condition is Pakistan has to accept the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), Army chief General Manoj Naravane said.

• The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends.
• The glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge immediately to the west and the main Karakoram range to the east. The Saltoro Ridge originates in the north from the Sia Kangri peak on the China border in the Karakoram range.
• The entire Siachen Glacier, with all major passes, is currently under the administration of India since 1984. Pakistan controls the region west of Saltoro Ridge, far away from the glacier.
• The glacier's melting waters are the main source of the Nubra River in the Indian region of Ladakh, which drains into the Shyok River. The Shyok in turn joins the 3000 kilometre-long Indus River which flows through Pakistan. Thus, the glacier is a major source of the Indus.
• At 76 km long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world's non-polar areas.
• Siachen and Sir Creek have long been termed “low hanging fruits” in the past for resolution between India and Pakistan and the two countries have held 13 rounds of Defence Secretary-level talks on Siachen, the last one in June 2012.

Hence both statements are correct.

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change released the ‘India State of Forest Report 2021’ prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) which has been mandated to assess the forest and tree resources of the country.

• The total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.9 million hectare which is 24.62 percent of the geographical area of the country.
• As compared to the assessment of 2019, there is an increase of 2,261 sq km in the total forest and tree cover of the country. Out of this, the increase in the forest cover has been observed as 1,540 sq km and that in tree cover is 721 sq km.
• Increase in forest cover has been observed in open forest followed by very dense forest. Top three states showing increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km) followed by Telangana (632 sq km) and Odisha (537 sq km).
• Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
• In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five States are Mizoram (84.53%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.33%), Meghalaya (76.00%), Manipur (74.34%) and Nagaland (73.90%).
• 17 states/UT’s have above 33 percent of the geographical area under forest cover. Out of these states and UT’s, five states/UTs namely Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have more than 75 percent forest cover.
• Total mangrove cover in the country is 4,992 sq km. An increase of 17 sq Km in mangrove cover has been observed as compared to the previous assessment of 2019. Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Odisha (8 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (4 sq km) and Karnataka (3 sq km).
• Total carbon stock in country’s forest is estimated to be 7,204 million tonnes and there an increase of 79.4 million tonnes in the carbon stock of country as compared to the last assessment of 2019. The annual increase in the carbon stock is 39.7 million tonnes.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Russia discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine and its implications for security in Europe.

• The talks happened at the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) which took place at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
• NRC is a forum for consultation with Russia on security issues and cooperation.
• NATO was founded in 1949, and is meant to ensure collective protection for its members — the United States, Canada, and American allies in Europe — against the threat of possible post-War communist expansion and aggression by the Soviet Union.
• The Soviet Union too, formed its own defence and political alliance with Eastern European nations as a counterbalance to NATO — the Warsaw Pact that was signed in 1955. This alliance was disbanded after the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991.
• Since April 2014, practical civil and military cooperation under the NRC with Russia has been suspended.
• This happened in response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which NATO allies do not recognise and have referred to as “illegal” and “illegitimate”.
• This was the first time since WWII that a European nation had annexed territory from another country. The region that Russia annexed in 2014 is now under Russian-backed separatists and even today fighting continues there.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Maharashtra government has introduced a new rule under which all small shops and establishments need to display Marathi signboards in Devanagari script.

• Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
• It is the official language of Maharashtra, and a co-official language in Goa and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
• It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India, with 83 million speakers as of 2011.
• The Government of Maharashtra has submitted an application to the Ministry of Culture to grant classical language status to Marathi.
• Marathi has the third largest number of native speakers in India, after Hindi and Bengali.
• The major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and the Varhadi dialect.
• Marathi distinguishes inclusive and exclusive forms of 'we' and possesses a three-way gender system, that features the neuter in addition to the masculine and the feminine.
• Marathi Day is celebrated on 27 February, the birthday of the poet Kusumagraj (Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar).

Hence both statements are correct.

India’s rapidly growing edtech sector recently took a step towards self-regulation, with a clutch of leading companies adopting a set of guidelines to conduct their businesses.

• The companies have formed a collective — India EdTech Consortium — under the aegis of the industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
• The collective has been formed after the government announced that it was working on a policy to regulate the sector.
• The India EdTech Consortium has adopted a three-page code of conduct for their businesses. The code is an attempt to address the concerns raised by the government; most of the clauses allude to red flags that have been raised in the recent past.
• The companies — BYJU’S, Careers 360, Great Learning, Harappa, TimesEdutech & Events Ltd, Scalar, Simplilearn, Toppr, Unacademy, upGrad, Vedantu, and WhiteHat Jr among others — have claimed to have adopted the mantra, “what is told is what is sold”.
• Apart from stressing on transparency and warning against misleading ads, the code of conduct says the companies are expected to use legal terms of qualifications such as MBA, BBA, and others in ads only when it is compliant with guidelines issued by the UGC and AICTE.

Hence both statements are correct.

Ms. Vinisha Umashankar, a student innovator turned environmentalist from Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu, has been selected as a "changemaker" and Batonbearer for the ongoing 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay (12-15 January 2022) in India.

• The 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay started at the Buckingham Palace in London on 7th October 2021 and is scheduled to conclude on 28th July 2022 at the Opening Ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games after travelling 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth for 294 days.
• With the arrival of baton in India, the 27th nation in the route, the Queen's Baton Relay will continue in India from 12th to 15th January 2022.

Mobile ironing cart

• Ms. Vinisha Umashankar received the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards instituted by National Innovation Foundation (NIF) – India, an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology for her mobile ironing cart.
• The cart uses solar panels to power a steam iron box and turned out to be an inspiration for the world after her speech at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2021 at Glasgow, Scotland.
• A key benefit of Vinisha’s solar ironing cart is that it eliminates the need for coal for ironing bringing about a welcome shift towards clean energy. End-users can move around and offer services at doorstep for increasing their daily earning.
• The ironing cart can also be fitted with a coin-operated GSM PCO, USB charging points, and mobile recharging, which can fetch extra income.
• India is committed towards solving the global climate change problem through Science, Technology, and Innovation based solutions.
• It’s the next generation of innovators like Vinisha who provide the nation a strong hope that “Tomorrow can be better than today” by virtue of their scientific thinking, societal focus, and institutional support mechanism like the one offered by NIF in India, which could be replicated in other parts of the world.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

On January 10, the University of Maryland School of Medicine announced that it had successfully transplanted a genetically-modified pig heart into a patient with life-threatening arrhythmia, a disorder that affects the rate or rhythm of heartbeats.

Cross-species transplant

• Xenotransplantation, or transplanting organs across different species, was first tried in humans in the 1980s. The experiment was abandoned after the famous case of the American Baby Fae who was born with a congenital heart defect and received a baboon heart in 1984.
• Xenotransplantation, if found compatible in the long run, could help provide an alternative supply of organs to those with life-threatening diseases.

Genetically engineered pig

• “GalSafe” pigs, or pigs that had undergone editing to knock out a gene that codes for Alpha-gal (a sugar molecule) were used. Alpha-gal can elicit a devastating immune response in humans.
• GalSafe pigs have been well studied, and are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in pharmacology.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Supreme Court has observed that the suspension of 12 BJP MLAs from the Maharashtra Assembly for a full year is prima facie unconstitutional, and “worse than expulsion”.

• The 12 MLAs have said they were not given an opportunity to present their case, and that the suspension violated their fundamental right to equality before law under Article 14 of the Constitution. They have also submitted that they were not given access to video of the proceedings of the House, and it was not clear how they had been identified in the large crowd that had gathered in the chamber.
• The MLAs have also contended that under Rule 53 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rules, the power to suspend can only be exercised by the Speaker, and it cannot be put to vote in a resolution as was done in this case.
• Rule 53 states that the “Speaker may direct any member who refuses to obey his decision, or whose conduct is, in his opinion, grossly disorderly, to withdraw immediately from the Assembly”. The member must “absent himself during the remainder of the day’s meeting”.

What has Maharashtra said in its defence?

• Counsel for Maharashtra argued that the House had acted within its legislative competence, and that under Article 212, courts do not have jurisdiction to inquire into the proceedings of the legislature.
• Article 212 (1) states that “The validity of any proceedings in the Legislature of a State shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure”.

Hence both statements are correct.

The World Health Organization (WH0) has recommended two drugs, baricitinib and sotrovimab, for treatment of Covid-19.

Baricitinib

• Baricitinib, which is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, has been “strongly recommended” for patients with severe or critical Covid-19 in combination with corticosteroids.
• It is part of a class of drugs called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors that suppress the overstimulation of the immune system.
• It is an oral drug, and provides an alternative to other arthritis drugs called Interleukin-6 receptor blockers, recommended by WHO in July 2021.

Sotrovimab

• Sotrovimab, developed by GlaxoSmithKline with US partner Vir Biotechnology Inc, is an investigational monoclonal antibody for use in treating conditions caused by coronavirus.
• The WHO has conditionally recommended its use for treating mild or moderate Covid-19 in patients who are at high risk of hospitalisation.
• These include patients who are older, are immunocompromised, and have underlying conditions like diabetes, hypertension and obesity, and are unvaccinated.
• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) too has approved an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the therapy for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in patients above 12 years.

Hence both statements are correct.