Daily Current Affairs MCQ- August 6, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)

• SSLV is a rocket that is designed to orbit satellites weighing less than 500kg in Low Earth Orbit and 300 kg to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
• It is a 3 stage Launch Vehicle configured with three Solid Propulsion Stages and liquid propulsion-based Velocity Trimming Module (VTM) as a terminal stage.

Hence both statements are correct.

The number of dogs on India’s streets declined from 1.71 crore in 2012 to 1.53 crore in 2019, according to figures tabled in Lok Sabha by Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister.

• The Minister cited these figures from the Livestock Censuses of these two years.
• There was a decline of 18 lakh dogs on the streets across the country, marking a 10% reduction, between 2012 and 2019.
• The Union Territory of Lakshadweep had not a single dog on the streets, in either of the two Livestock Censuses.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

The Lok Sabha passed the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021.

• The Bill amends the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.  The Act regulates the protection of wild animals, birds and plants.
• The Bill seeks to increase the species protected under the law, and implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 
• Currently, the Act has six schedules for specially protected plants (one), specially protected animals (four), and vermin species (one). The Bill reduces the total number of schedules to four.
• The Bills empowers the central government to regulate or prohibit the import, trade, possession or proliferation of invasive alien species.

Hence both statements are correct.

The President of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, is on an Official Visit to India at the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

Ground-breaking/Review of Projects

• Pouring of first concrete of the Greater Male Connectivity Project- an USD 500 Mn India funded project- marking the commencement of permanent works
• Review of the progress on the construction of 4,000 social housing units in Hulhumale being funded under Exim Bank of India Buyer’s credit finance of USD 227 Mn
• Overview of India Maldives development cooperation including Addu roads and reclamation, water and sanitation in 34 islands and Friday Mosque restoration projects

Agreements/MoUs Exchanged

• MoU on Capacity Building & Training of Members of Local Councils & Women Development Committee of Maldives between NIRDPR, India and Local Government Authority, Maldives
• MoU on Collaboration in potential fishing zone forecast capacity building and data sharing and marine scientific research between INCOIS, India and Ministry of Fisheries, Maldives
• MoU for Cooperation in the area of Cyber Security between CERT-India and NCIT, Maldives
• MoU for cooperation in the field of disaster management between NDMA, India and NDMA, Maldives
• Agreement between EXIM Bank, India and Ministry of Finance, Maldives for USD 41 Mn Buyer’s Credit Financing of Police Infrastructure in Maldives

Announcements

• Extension of USD 100 Mn new Line of Credit to finance infrastructure projects in Maldives
• Approval for award of EPC contract for the USD 128 Mn Hanimadhoo Airport Development project under Line of Credit
• Approval of DPR and commencment of tendering process of the USD 324 Mn Gulhifahlu Port development project under Line of Credit
• Approval of Feasibility Report and financial closure for the USD 30 Mn Cancer Hospital project under Line of Credit
• USD 119 Mn Buyer’s Credit financing by Exim Bank of India for additional 2,000 social housing units in Hulhumale

Hence both statements are correct.

Minerals Security Partnership (MSP)

• It is an ambitious new US-led partnership to secure supply chains of critical minerals, aimed at reducing dependency on China.
  • There is no global definition of critical minerals, but essentially, they are mineral deposits with high economic vulnerability and high global supply chain risk.
• The partnership was announced at the world’s largest mining event, held in Toronto.
• MSP partner countries include Canada, Australia, Finland, Germany, France, Japan, Republic of Korea, Sweden, UK, US, and European Commission.

Hence both statements are correct.

India ratified pledges made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Glasgow in November 2021 to accelerate the country’s reliance on renewable energy to power the economy and be effectively free from use of fossil fuels by 2070. However, the approved pledges were fewer than those Mr. Modi committed to.

• The Union Cabinet approved an update to India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
• Mr. Modi had laid out five commitments, or Panchamrit, as the government references it, namely:
  • India will increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW (gigawatt) by 2030;
  • will meet 50% of its energy requirements from “renewable energy” by 2030;
  • will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now till 2030;
  • will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by more than 45%; and
  • will achieve the target of “net zero” by the year 2070, when there will be no net carbon dioxide emitted from energy sources.
• A press statement, following the Cabinet approval, only mentions two of these promises, namely that
  • India is committed to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030, from the 2005 level and
  • achieving 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

Hence both statements are correct.

Vigilance Commissioner Suresh N. Patel was sworn in as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• Mr. Patel was officiating as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) since June this year after Sanjay Kothari, former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, completed his term.
• With these appointments, the Central Vigilance Commission is in its full strength now.
• The Commission is headed by a central vigilance commissioner and it can have two Vigilance Commissioners.
• Mr Patel, former managing director and chief executive officer of Andhra Bank, was in April 2020 appointed as the vigilance commissioner. Mr Patel’s elevation was approved by a selection panel headed by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition (LoP).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India’s trade deficit has widened to a record $31.02 billion in July thanks to contracting merchandise exports and a rise in imports. This is a three-times increase from the $10.63 billion trade deficit reported in July last year.

• Trade deficit or negative balance of trade (BOT) is the gap between exports and imports. When money spent on imports exceeds that spent on exports in a country, trade deficit occurs.
• It can be calculated for different goods and services and also for international transactions. The opposite of trade deficit is trade surplus.

What causes it?

• There are multiple factors that can be responsible.
• One of them is some goods not being produced domestically. In that case, they have to be imported. This leads to an imbalance in their trade. A weak currency can also be a cause as it makes trade expensive.

Is it bad for a country’s economy?

• If trade deficit increases, a country’s GDP decreases. A higher trade deficit can decrease the local currency’s value.
• More imports than exports, according to economists, impact the jobs market and lead to an increase in unemployment. If more mobiles are imported and less produced locally, then there will be less local jobs in that sector.

Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

India is closely monitoring the movement of a Chinese “spy ship” that is on its way to Sri Lanka and will dock at its Hambantota port around August 11.

• The vessel’s visit to the Lankan port comes at a time when the country is battling a severe economic crisis, and India is learnt to have already lodged a verbal protest against the ship’s visit.
• The ‘Yuan Wang 5’, a Chinese research and survey vessel, is en route to Hambantota, a strategically important deep-sea port developed mostly using loans from Beijing.
• ‘Yuan Wang’-class ships are used to track satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches.
• China has around seven of these tracking ships that are capable of operating throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. The ships supplement Beijing’s land-based tracking stations.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently published External Sector Report 2022 by IMF has said that the RBI’s intervention in the currency market should be limited to addressing disorderly market conditions.

International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• The IMF is an international financial institution (headquartered in Washington D.C., US).
• It works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 190 member countries. It is governed by and accountable to its member countries.
• Formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, IMF came into formal existence in 1945 with the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.