Daily Current Affairs MCQ - February 13, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Supreme Court asked the Centre to “delete” its three-year-old law which allowed seizure and subsequent confiscation of livestock from people who depended on these animals for a livelihood, even before they were found guilty of cruelty towards them.

• The supreme court warned the government that it would “stay” the implementation of a 2017 law, which allowed authorities to seize cattle on a mere suspicion that they suffered cruel treatment at the hands of their owners or were being primed for slaughter.
• These animals, the law prescribes, would then be lodged in gaushalas as “case property” to await the court’s verdict. In short, a farmer, a livestock owner or a cattle trader loses his animals before being found guilty of the charge of cruelty.
• It ruled that these rules are contrary to Section 29 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, under which only a person convicted of cruelty can lose his animal.
• The law under question is the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017 notified on May 23, 2017. The rules were framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
• The 2017 Rules allow a Magistrate to forfeit the cattle of an owner facing trial under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The animals are then sent to infirmaries, gaushalas, pinjarapole, etc. These authorities can further give such animals for “adoption”.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Under the ICAR’s initiative ‘Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav’, Cleanliness drive was carried out recently in Ibrampur, Veling and Parra villages.

• The flagship programme of the Prime Minister of India, “Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav” was launched in 2015.
• The objective of this scheme is to provide farmers with required information, knowledge and advisories on regular basis by adopting villages. The programme aims to promote the direct interface of scientists with the farmers to hasten the lab to land process.
• It is implemented by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture.
• Hence both statements are correct.

India will be chairing three-key subsidiary bodies of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). This was announced by the Permanent Representative of India at the United Nations Security Council, TS Tirumurti.

• The panels are, Counter-Terrorism Committee (for 2022), Taliban Sanctions Committee, and Libya Sanctions committee.
• India will chair the Counter-Terrorism Committee of UNSC in 2022. Chairing of this committee has a special resonance for India which has not only been at the forefront of fighting terrorism especially cross border terrorism but has also been one of its biggest victims.
• Taliban Sanctions Committee has always been a high priority for India keeping in mind its strong interest and commitment to peace, security, development, and progress of Afghanistan.
• India will be assuming the chair of the Libya Sanctions Committee at a critical juncture when there is an international focus on Libya and on the peace process.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NHPC Limited for providing its technical expertise in developing renewable energy projects.

• Under the MoU, IREDA will undertake Techno-Financial due diligence of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and conservation projects for NHPC.
• IREDA will assist NHPC in developing an action plan to create and acquire Renewable Energy projects for the next five years.
• IREDA is under administrative control of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. NHPC Limited is the PSU under Ministry of Power.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar launched Government's Digital Calendar and Diary App in New Delhi.

• Government calendar that has adorned the walls in the past will now adorn mobile phones.
• Digital calender is an environment-friendly initiative.
• It is available in Hindi and English, but it will be available in 11 languages from 15th of this month.
• The calender has a theme for every month and it will also have all informations of 100 revolutionary programmes of the government.
• The GOI Calender and the Diary App is available for download on both Google Play store and iOS App Store.
• The app has been designed and developed by Bureau of Outreach and Communication, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The app will do away with the need for a new calendar every year.

Hence both statements are correct.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal launched a Freight Business Development Portal as one stop solution for all the needs of freight customers.

• The portal is designed to replace physical processes with online ones to minimise the need of human-to-human interaction.
• The personalised dashboard of freight business portal provides customers a view with their business in railways, outstanding indents, on-run consignments, status of various interactions and facility to apply for various services and raising concerns.
• Customers also get to know about discount schemes, diversion, rebooking, demurrage and wharfage waivers, stacking permissions.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Assam government will provide khadi shirt, eri shawl and eri stole to Grade IV employees in a phased manner, in a move to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and his movement for Khadi.

• Eri silk comes from the caterpillar of Samia ricini, found in northeast India and some parts of China, Japan.
• The name "eri" is derived from the Assamese word "era", which means "castor", as the silkworm feeds on castor plants.
• Eri silk is also known as endi or errandi in India.
• The woolly white silk is often referred to as the fabric of peace when it is processed without killing the silkworm. This process results in a silk called Ahimsa silk. Moths leave the cocoon and then the cocoons are harvested to be spun.
• The eri silkworm is the only completely domesticated silkworm other than Bombyx mori.
• Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the National Youth Parliament Festival - 2021 on January 12, 2021.

• The Festival is organised on 12th January on the occasion of the National Youth Day in order to encourage the youth in the age group of 18-25 years to engage with public issues and understand the common man’s point of view.
• The First National Youth Parliament Festival was organized in January-February, 2019.
• National Youth Day is celebrated on 12 January being the birthday of Swami Vivekananda.
• In 1984 the Government of India declared this day as National Youth Day and since 1985 the event is celebrated in India every year.
• Hence both statements are incorrect.

After culling of ducks and chickens in Kerala, the Haryana government has decided to cull poultry birds in Barwala after some of them tested positive for the avian influenza.

• Mass slaughter of domestic poultry birds, such as chickens and ducks, to contain the spread of bird flu is called culling.
• During culling operations, all domestic birds in an infected area, i.e., an area in which a case of bird flu has been detected, are slaughtered and their remains buried.
• Though wild and other birds may also carry the bird flu, only domestic poultry birds are culled since they are present in close proximity with people, raising the chances of transmission of the virus to humans.
• In India, culling is done in a radius one kilometre from the site of infection, which is called the ‘infected zone’. This means all domestic birds present in commercial farms, backyard farms or live bird markets in the infected zone are culled.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The US administration has once again amended the H-1B visa norms by changing the rules to give priority to higher wages and skills for selection of deserving candidates. The old lottery system of work visa selection will not be followed now.

• The new wage-based work visa regime will now give priority in selection of visas to applications of those employers where the “proffered wage equals or exceeds” the prevailing level in that area of employment.
• The proffered wage is the wage that the employer intends to pay the beneficiary.
• This will be done for both the 65,000 regular visas and the 20,000 advanced degree exemption visas.
• This regime will also take into account the skill set that the respective worker brings to the country and cross check it whether such skill set is available at the same cost among the US workers.
• Hence both statements are correct.