Daily Current Affairs MCQ - August 31, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Buddhadeb Guha (29 June 1936 – 29 August 2021) was an Indian writer of fiction in Bengali language.

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed deep grief over the passing away of eminent writer, Shri Buddhadeb Guha.
• His early life is depicted in his Rivu series. Some of the Rivu books are dedicated to friends from his youth.
• He was also the creator of Rijuda, an imaginary character who explores jungles with his sidekick Rudra. The jungles that he wrote about were mainly in Eastern India.
• Guha received Ananda Puraskar in 1976.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Every year on August 30, the country celebrates National Small Industry Day. On August 30, 2000, a comprehensive policy package for the SSI (Small Scale Industry) sector was launched, providing significant support to small firms in India.

Some of the key reforms introduced by Ministry of MSME are:

• Revision of MSME definition: Government of India approved the upward revision of MSME definition on 1st June 2020 under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package. The Government revised the MSME classification by inserting composite criteria of both investment and annual turnover.
• Udyam Registration: Udyam is an online and simplified procedure of filing of registration which enables MSMEs to obtain registration without any documentation and fees.
• Champions Portal: It is an ICT based technology system aimed at making the smaller units big by solving their grievances, encouraging, supporting, helping and handholding throughout the business lifecycle. The platform facilitates a single window solution for all needs of MSMEs.
• National SC-ST Hub (NSSH): National SC-ST Hub has been launched to promote entrepreneurship culture in the SC-ST community and fulfill the 4% procurement target mentioned in the Public Procurement Policy order, 2018.
• Self-Reliant India (SRI) Fund: The scheme is expected to facilitate equity financing of Rs.50,000 crore in the MSME Sector. The infusion of equity will provide an opportunity to get MSMEs listed in stock exchanges.
• Procurement Policy: For providing marketing support to MSEs, all Central Ministries/Government Departments and CPSEs are required to procure 25% of their annual requirements of goods and services from MSEs including 4% from MSEs owned by SC/ST and 3% from MSEs owned by women entrepreneurs under the Public Procurement Policy.
• Establishment of Enterprise Development Centers (EDCs): Till date Ministry of MSME has set up 102 EDCs across India. The aim of these centers is to build a network of entrepreneurial leaders by providing professional mentoring and handholding support services to existing as well as aspiring MSMEs with special focus on rural enterprises on continuous basis.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs inaugurated the newly constructed 132/33/11 kV Mohanpur Sub-station in Tripura on 27th August, 2021, in presence of Chief Minister of Tripura.

North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP)

• This Sub-station has been constructed by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), a Maharatna CPSU under Ministry of Power, Government of India for Tripura under North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP).
• NERPSIP is a Central sector plan scheme of the Ministry of Power, Government of India, envisioned to drive economic development of the North Eastern region of the country.
• The scheme is being implemented through POWERGRID, for six beneficiary North Eastern states namely, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
• The main objective of the project is Government of India’s commitment for the total economic development of North Eastern Region and to strengthen the Intra-State Transmission & Distribution Infrastructure in the North East region.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Chinese regulators slashed the amount of time players under the age of 18 can spend on online games to an hour of gameplay on Fridays, weekends and holidays, in response to growing concern over gaming addiction.

• The rules, published by the National Press and Publication Administration, said users under the age of 18 will only be able to play games from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time on those days.
• Online gaming companies will be barred from providing gaming services to them in any form outside those hours and need to ensure they have put real name verification systems in place, said the regulator, which oversees the country's video games market.
• Previously, China limited the total length of time minors could access online games to three hours on holiday or 1.5 hours on other days.
• The National Press and Publication Administration also told Xinhua it would increase the frequency and intensity of inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they were putting in place time limits and anti-addiction systems.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The board of directors of Bharti Airtel has approved the company’s plan to raise up to Rs 21,000 crore by way of a rights issue.

• Under Company Laws, a rights issue is one of the many ways in which a company can raise additional capital when they need it.
• A rights issue gives investors the option, or a right to buy new shares of the company at a discount to the current market price.
• Only existing shareholders of a company can participate in the rights issue. This means that instead of going to the general public at large, only the existing shareholders of the company can buy additional shares in the company if they so wish to.
• Companies also declare a rights entitlement ratio when declaring a rights issue. For example, if a company declares an entitlement ratio of 1:4, it means that for every four shares that a shareholder already has, they can buy one more share in the rights issue.
• Hence both statements are correct.

• Dara Shikoh (1615-59) was the eldest son of Shah Jahan. He is described as a “liberal Muslim” who tried to find commonalities between Hindu and Islamic traditions.
• He is known as a pioneer of the academic movement for interfaith understanding in India. He had a deep understanding and knowledge of major religions, particularly Islam and Hinduism.
• His most important works, Majma-ul-Bahrain (Mingling of Two Oceans) and Sirr-i-Akbar (Great Mystery) are devoted to the cause of establishing connections between Hinduism and Islam.
• He translated the Upanishads and other important sources of Hindu religion and spirituality from Sanskrit to Persian. Through these translations, he was responsible for taking the Hindu culture and spiritual traditions to Europe and the West.
• Hence, option D is correct.

• National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) is a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme. It is proposed to have an additional 6.5 lakh hectares for palm oil by 2025-26. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It will involve raising the area under oil palm cultivation to 10 lakh hectares by 2025-26 and 16.7 lakh hectares by 2029-30.
• Oil palm farmers will be provided financial assistance and will get remuneration under a price and viability formula. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • The Viability Formula is a Minimum Support Price-type mechanism and the government will fix this at 14.3% of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) price.
• It will eventually go up to 15.3%.
• Another focus area of the scheme is to substantially increase the support of inputs/interventions.
  • Special assistance will be given to replant old gardens for their rejuvenation.

• Small Finance Banks (SFBs) are the financial institutions which provide financial services to the unserved and unbanked region of the country.
  • SFB is registered as a public limited company under the Companies Act, 2013. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It needs to open at least 25% of its banking outlets in unbanked rural centres.
• SFBs are required to extend 75% of its adjusted net bank credit to the Priority Sector Lending (PSL).
  • The RBI mandates banks to lend a certain portion of their funds to specified sectors, like agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), export credit, education, housing, social infrastructure, renewable energy among others. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• SFBs are governed by the provisions of the:
  • Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934;
  • Banking Regulation Act, 1949;
  • Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999;
  • Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007;
  • Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005;
  • Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961;
  • Other relevant Statutes and the Directives issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other regulators from time to time.
  • Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

• Freedom to Move Freely Throughout the Territory of India:
  • Article 19(1)(d) of the Indian Constitution entitles every citizen to move freely throughout the territory of the country. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • This right is protected against only state action and not private individuals.
  • Moreover, it is available only to the citizens and to shareholders of a company but not to foreigners or legal persons like companies or corporations, etc.
  • The freedom of movement has two dimensions, viz, internal (right to move inside the country) and external (right to move out of the country and right to come back to the country).
    • Article 19 protects only the first dimension.
    • The second dimension is dealt by Article 21 (Right to life and personal liberty).
  • Restrictions on this freedom can only be imposed on two grounds which are mentioned in the Article 19(5) of the constitution itself, namely, the interests of the general public and the protection of interests of any scheduled tribe. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• The West Nile Virus (WNV) is a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae.
  • It is commonly found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America and West Asia.
• WNV was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937.
  • It was identified in birds in the Nile delta region in 1953. Before 1997, WNV was not considered pathogenic for birds. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• WNV causes an infectious disease spread by infected mosquitoes. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • It spreads from birds to humans with the bite of an infected Culex mosquito.
    • It can lead to a fatal neurological disease in humans. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • The virus causes West Nile fever in around 20% of cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is related to the Zika, Dengue and Yellow Fever Viruses.