Daily Current Affairs MCQ - August 9, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

A corporate may raise capital in the primary market by way of an initial public offer, rights issue or private placement.

An Initial Public Offer (IPO) is the selling of securities to the public in the primary market. 

A rights issue is an invitation to existing shareholders to purchase additional new shares in the company. This type of issue gives existing shareholders securities called rights.

A private placement is a sale of stock shares or bonds to pre-selected investors and institutions rather than on the open market. It is an alternative to an initial public offering (IPO) for a company seeking to raise capital for expansion.

Innate immunity:

It prevents the entry of the foreign agents into our body when our bodies are weak especially at the time of birth. It remains with us throughout our lives.

It is “Acquired Immunity” that is disease specific, not innate immunity which is general in nature. This means that our body when it encounters a pathogen for the first time produces a response called primary response which is of low intensity.

Subsequent encounter with the same pathogen elicits a highly intensified secondary or anamnestic response. This is ascribed to the fact that our body appears to have memory of the first encounter.

Cloudbursts are short-duration, intense rainfall events over a small area. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), it is a weather phenomenon with unexpected precipitation exceeding 100mm/h over a geographical region of approximately 20-30 square km.

A study published last year studied the meteorological factors behind the cloudburst over the Kedarnath region. They analysed atmospheric pressure, atmospheric temperature, rainfall, cloud water content, cloud fraction, cloud particle radius, cloud mixing ratio, total cloud cover, wind speed, wind direction, and relative humidity during the cloudburst, before as well as after the cloudburst. The results showed that during the cloudburst, the relative humidity and cloud cover was at the maximum level with low temperature and slow winds. 

Several studies have shown that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of cloudbursts in many cities across the globe. As temperatures increase the atmosphere can hold more and more moisture and this moisture comes down as a short very intense rainfall for a short duration probably half an hour or one hour resulting in flash floods in the mountainous areas and urban floods in the cities.

UNHRC was reconstituted from its predecessor organisation, the UN Commission on Human Rights to help overcome the “credibility deficit” of the previous organisation.

Composition:

• The UNHRC has 47 members serving at any time with elections held to fill up seats every year, based on allocations to regions across the world to ensure geographical representation.
• Each elected member serves for a term of three years.
• Countries are disallowed from occupying a seat for more than two consecutive terms.

The UNHRC passes non-binding resolutions on human rights issues through a periodic review of all 193 UN member states called the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

1. It is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
2. Monitored by the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
3. The covenant commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due process and a fair trial.
4. The ICCPR is part of the International Bill of Human Rights, along with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
5. It became effective in 1976.

Jayaprakash Narayan: Post-Independence Role

• In 1952, he formed the Praja Socialist Party (PSP).
• In 1954, he devoted his life exclusively to the Bhoodan Yajna Movement of Vinoba Bhave, which demanded land redistribution to the landless.
• In 1959 he argued for a “reconstruction of Indian polity” by means of a four-tier hierarchy of village, district, state, and union councils (Chaukhamba Raj).
• Total Revolution: Against Indira Gandhi Regime as she was found guilty of violating electoral laws by the Allahabad High Court. He advocated a program of social transformation which he termed ‘Sampoorna Kranti' (total revolution) in 1974 against corruption in public.
  • Total Revolution has seven component revolu­tions, namely- political, social, economic, cultural, ideological or intellectual, educational and spiritual.
• Hence, option B is correct.

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• On 8^th August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave a clarion call to end the British rule and launched the Quit India Movement at the session of the All-India Congress Committee in Mumbai. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • On 8^th Aug 2021, India completed 79 years of Quit India Movement also known as August Kranti. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Gandhiji gave the call “Do or Die” in his speech delivered at the Gowalia Tank Maidan, now popularly known as August Kranti Maidan.
• Aruna Asaf Ali popularly known as the 'Grand Old Lady' of the Independence Movement is known for hoisting the Indian flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Mumbai during the Quit India Movement.
• The slogan ‘Quit India’ was coined by Yusuf Meherally, a socialist and trade unionist who also served as Mayor of Mumbai.
  • Meherally had also coined the slogan “Simon Go Back”. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

• India ranks third globally after China and the United States of America, with 5334 large dams in operation.
  • These dams are vital for ensuring the water security of the Country.
  • Indian dams and reservoirs play an important role in the economic and agricultural growth of the country by storing approximately 300 billion cubic meter of water annually.
• The Government of India, with financial assistance from the World Bank initiated the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) in April 2012.
  • It was a State Sector Scheme with a Central component.
    • It had rehabilitation provision for 223 dams located in seven States (Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand) with 10 Implementing Agencies on board.
  • A web-based tool called Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application (DHARMA) has been developed to capture important data for all dams and use it for appropriate monitoring and development of rehabilitation protocols. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Based on the success of DRIP, the Ministry of Jal Shakti initiated another externally funded Scheme DRIP Phase II and Phase III.
• The scheme was approved in October 2020.
  • The Phase II of the Scheme is being co-financed by two multilateral funding Agencies - World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), with funding of US$ 250 million each. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • The funding pattern of Scheme is 80:20 (Special Category States), 70:30 (General Category States) and 50:50 (Central Agencies).

National Company Law Tribunal:

• The Central Government constituted National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under section 408 of the Companies Act, 2013 in 2016. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It has been set up as a quasi-judicial body to govern the companies registered in India and is a successor to the Company Law Board.
• It is bound by the rules laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure and is guided by the principles of natural justice, subject to the other provisions of this Act and of any rules that are made by the Central Government. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was constituted under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013 to hear appeals against the orders of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
  • Any person aggrieved by any order of the NCLAT may file an appeal to the Supreme Court. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

A new book titled “Balakot Air Strike: How India Avenged Pulwama”, has been authored by Manan Bhatt. The book is published by Garuda Prakashan. Manan Bhatt is a Retired non-commissioned officer of the Indian Navy who participated in the Kargil War and Operation Parakram. The book has covered the real-life events of the February 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing attack, and India’s strong hit-back in the form of Balakot airstrikes 12 days later.