Daily Current Affairs MCQ - February 14, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi paid his obeisances to Sri Madhvacharya on the occasion of Madhva Navami.

• Madhvacharya (CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317) was also known as Purna Prajna and Ānanda Tīrtha.
• He was a Hindu philosopher and the chief proponent of the Dvaita (dualism) school of Vedanta.
• Madhva called his philosophy Tattvavāda meaning "arguments from a realist viewpoint".
• His greatest work is considered to be the Anuvyakhyana, a philosophical supplement to his bhasya on the Brahma Sutras composed with a poetic structure.
• Madhvacharya was a critic of Adi Shankara's Advaita Vedanta and Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta teachings.
• Madhva established the Krishna Mutt at Udupi with a murti secured from Dwarka Gujarat in CE 1285.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed to extend the term-liquidity facility of ₹50,000 crore offered to emergency health services by three months till June 30.

• Last year in May, RBI had announced an on-tap liquidity window of ₹50,000 crore, at the repo rate with tenors of up to three years, to boost provision of immediate liquidity for ramping up COVID-19-related healthcare infrastructure and services in the country.
• Banks were incentivised for quick delivery of credit under the scheme through extension of priority-sector classification to such lending up to March 31, 2022.
• In view of the response to the scheme, it is now proposed to extend this window up to June 30, 2022 from March 31, 2022 as announced earlier.
• Under the scheme, banks were expected to create a COVID-19 loan book.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

As many as 648 police stations in the country do not have telephones, a report by a parliamentary panel tabled in the Rajya Sabha said.

• Uttar Pradesh, one of the largest States, did not have phone connection in 75 police stations, while Jammu and Kashmir had 79 police stations without telephone connection. In Punjab, the number stood at 69.
• Other than this, the largest shortfall was found in North-East States — 141 police stations in Assam, 54 in Arunachal Pradesh, 64 in Manipur, 62 in Meghalaya and 36 in Nagaland did not have telephone connection.
• The report said that 257 police stations did not have vehicles and 143 did not have wireless sets.
• The report was drafted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs.
• The committee expressed concern that even after 15 years, only 17 States have either enacted the Model Police Act, 2006, or amended their existing Act.
• The progress in police reforms has been slow and recommends that the MHA may put the information in public domain about the States that are leading and lagging in the modernisation process. This will put pressure on the States lagging behind to perform better.
• Due to unspent balance with the State Governments, only ₹103.27 crores out of ₹770.76 crores was released during 2020-21.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Reserve Bank of India maintained status quo in policy rates as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep the policy repo rate at 4% to keep the stance accommodative.

• While announcing the Bi-monthly policy RBI Governor Shaktikant Das said, MSF rate and bank rate will remain unchanged at 4.25%.
• Reverse repo rate will also remain unchanged at 3.35%.
• MPC has voted 5-1 to continue accommodative monetary policy stance as long as necessary to revive and sustain growth and mitigate impact of #COVID19 on the economy, while ensuring inflation remains within target.
• He projected real GDP growth at 9.2% for 2021-22 and said that it is modestly above level of GDP for 2019-20. Real GDP growth for 2022-23 was projected at 7.8%.

Other announcements

• He announced that Variable Rate Repo operations of varying tenures will henceforth be conducted as and when warranted.
• Variable rate repos and variable rate reverse repos of 14-day tenures will operate as the main liquidity management tool.
• He informed that from March 1, 2022, fixed rate reverse repo and MSF operations will be available only during 5.30 PM to 11.59 PM on all days, instead of from 9.00 AM to 11.59 PM.
• He also announced some additional measures like extension of On-tap Liquidity Facilities for Emergency Health Services and Contact-intensive Sectors, voluntary retention route (VRR) - Enhancement of Limits, Review of Credit Default Swaps (CDS) Guidelines, Permission for Banks to deal in Foreign Currency Settled - Rupee Derivatives Market etc.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment is launching the Central Sector scheme “SMILE: Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise” at BHIM Auditorium, Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.

• This umbrella scheme is designed to provide welfare measures to the Transgender community and the people engaged in the act of begging.
• This scheme includes two sub-schemes:
  • ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons’ and
  • ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of Begging’.
• The scheme strengthens and expands the reach of the Rights that give the targeted group the necessary legal protection and a promise to a secured life.
• It keeps in mind the social security that is needed through multiple dimensions of identity, medical care, education, occupational opportunities and shelter.
• The Ministry has allocated Rs. 365 Crore for the scheme from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

In an almost 10-fold increase in tax collections from stock markets, the government is expecting to collect Rs 60,000-80,000 crore this financial year as a tax on capital gains in the stock markets as against Rs 6,000-8,000 crore in the previous fiscal.

• Under the Income Tax Act, gains from the sale of capital assets, both movable and immovable, are subject to ‘capital gains tax’. Movable personal assets such as cars, apparel, furniture are excluded from this tax.
• In the Budget for 2018-19, the government had introduced a tax for long term capital gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh at the rate of 10 per cent without allowing the benefit of any indexation but grandfathered gains till January 31, 2018.
• Equity shares or units of equity-oriented mutual funds held for more than 12 months are considered long-term, while house property held for 24 months is considered a long-term capital asset.
• Short-term capital gains are chargeable to tax at normal slab rates applicable to the taxpayer, except where such gain is arising from the sale of equity shares in a company or units of equity-oriented mutual fund or unit of a business trust, which attracts a tax of 15 per cent, while long-term capital gains in excess of Rs 1 lakh for equity is taxed at 10 per cent.
• The Budget for 2022-23 has introduced a capping of surcharge at 15 per cent for long-term capital gains on all types of assets irrespective of the capital gain.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Once found in abundance, Australia’s much-loved koalas have now been officially classified as ‘endangered’ after widespread bushfires, drought and land clearing destroyed much of their eucalyptus-rich habitat.

• Government upgraded the conservation status of the marsupials from ‘vulnerable’ to ‘endangered’ in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, based on the recommendation of the threatened species scientific committee.
• Koala species have inhabited parts of Australia for at least 25 million years, a WWF report states. But today, only one species remains — the Phascolarctos cinereus. They are found in the wild in the southeast and eastern sides of Australia — in coastal Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
• Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog in collaboration with UNDP, India launched the Community Innovator Fellowship (CIF) marking the “International Day of Women & Girls in Science”.

• This is going to be a one-year-long intensive fellowship program which has been designed for an aspiring community innovator irrespective of their socio-economic background.
• During the course of this fellowship, each fellow will be hosted at one of the AIM’s Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs) and shall acquire SDG awareness, entrepreneurial skills and life skills while they are working on their idea.
• The ACICs would nurture youth-led innovations by providing suitable resources in terms of operating facilities, co-working space, maker labs and a dynamic business network to the innovator.
• ACICs have been established with a focus to develop the start-up and innovation ecosystem in the underserved regions of the country. Currently, there are 12 ACICs across 9 states in the country and the target is to establish 50 such centres in the country.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Navy is set to hold the 12th President’s Fleet Review (PFR) on February 21 at Visakhapatnam and few days from that it will host the largest multilateral exercise in this region, Milan 2022.

• Milan 2022 will see participation of all major Navies including Quad countries, Russia and from West Asia amid tensions in Ukraine and developments in West Asia.
• This year’s Milan will see the participation of all Quad countries, with the U.S. being invited for the first time.
• Exercise Milan is scheduled to be held from February 25 to March 4 for which 46 countries have been invited. The harbour phase is scheduled from February 25 to 28 and the sea phase from March 1 to 4.
• It has several themes such as ant-submarine warfare among others along with deliberations, including by subject matter experts.
• During the exercise, the Navy will also be showcasing its Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) capabilities meant to rescue submarines in distress. India is one of the few countries in the region which possesses this capability.
• Hence both statements are correct.

India signed an agreement with the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) for the distribution of 50,000 tonnes of wheat that it has committed to sending Afghanistan as part of humanitarian assistance.

• Diplomatic efforts are under way to begin sending truck convoys through Pakistan by road, and the transport is expected to begin after the Punjab election on February 20.
• According to the MoU, the wheat will be taken through Pakistan to the Afghan border crossing and handed over to WFP officials in Kandahar beginning February 22.
• The wheat will eventually be divided into five batches of 10,000 tonnes, to be distributed across the country on approximately 200 trucks that are run by the WFP.
• The WFP runs its own logistics network inside Afghanistan, partnering with civil society groups, and has launched a global campaign for enough food and aid for the population facing malnutrition — estimated to be half the population or 22 million Afghans.

Key facts

• The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security.
• It is headquartered in Rome.
• The WFP was formally established in 1963 by the FAO and the United Nations General Assembly.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.