Daily Current Affairs MCQ - February 20, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The sixth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog was held today under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conferencing.

• It was attended by 26 Chief Ministers, 3 Lieutenant Governors and 2 Administrators, apart from Union Ministers, who are Ex-Officio Members, and Special Invitees.
• NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, Members and CEO, Principal Secretary to the PM & other senior officers from PMO; Cabinet Secretary; and Chief Secretaries of States/ Union Territories also attended the meeting.

The Agenda for the Sixth Council Meeting comprised the following items:

• Making India a Manufacturing Powerhouse
• Reimagining Agriculture
• Improving Physical Infrastructure
• Accelerating Human Resources Development
• Improving Service Delivery at Grassroots Level
• Health and Nutrition

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Ahmedabad-Kevadia seaplane returned from the Maldives on February 16 after a two-week maintenance tour at its home country. This was the third major suspension since its launch on October 31, 2020.

• A thorough maintenance check is part of the operation manual of the seaplane, which is a Twin Otter-300 aircraft. The plane will keep going back to the Maldives — its home country — every time it completes 124 flying hours.
• This is because the infrastructure to carry out the maintenance is not available in India.
• Moreover, the maintenance is not just about physical servicing but requires certification at various levels. The flight is registered in the Maldives and the aviation bodies there need to check the flight and certify that it is fit for flying. It is the property of that country.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

On February 18, the 12-year-old son of Shabnam, a death row convict from Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha, appealed to President Ram Nath Kovind to “forgive” his mother.

• The same day, Shabman filed a second mercy petition with the Governor of Uttar Pradesh and the President of India, both of whom have earlier rejected her plea.
• If executed, Shabnam will be the first woman in independent India to be hanged for a crime.
• These include the right to challenge the rejection of her mercy petition before the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court on various grounds and also the right to file a curative petition in the Supreme Court against the decision on the review petition.”
• The curative petition can challenge the Supreme Court decision of January 2020, which upheld her death sentence.
• Also, under the law, if multiple people have been sentenced to death in the same case, they have to be executed together. So, Shabnam and Saleem can be hanged only after both of them exhaust all their legal recourses.
• Hanging and shooting are the two methods of death penalty in India. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, hanging is the method of execution in the civilian court system. The Army Act, 1950, however, lists both hanging and shooting as official methods of execution in the military court-martial system.
• The Mithu vs State of Punjab judgment states that death penalty is not a mandatory punishment for the above listed crimes. The Supreme Court had also ruled that mandatory death penalty is unconstitutional.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

By next year, India could have its own ‘Footwear Sizing System’, which will hopefully remove some of the confusion involved in buying shoes of ‘EU’, ‘UK’ or ‘US’ sizes, especially online.

• CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) will lead a pan India feet scanning survey, data from which will be used to define Indian footwear size standards – and which will be included by shoe manufacturers in their size charts.
• The project, which is scheduled to begin later this year and continue for 14 months, is supported by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Union Ministry of Commerce.
• India has never had its own footwear sizing system. The British introduced English sizes before Independence, which are followed still. Manufacturers size footwear according to the English system, with charts mentioning the equivalent European and American sizes.
• According to this UK system, the average Indian woman wears footwear sizes between 4 and 6, and the average man between 5 to 11.
• Back in 1969, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which lays down standards and certifies product quality, had notified the Indian Standard Specification for Sizes and Fitting of Footwear (IS 1638-1969). The characteristics of Indian feet have changed since.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

One of the top Twitter trends over the past few hours has been “#modi_rojgar_do”. The hashtag essentially asks Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide more employment.

• Just before the Covid crisis at the end of 2019-20 financial year, India had (according to the data provided by Mahesh Vyas of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy) around 403.5 million employed people and around 35 million (or 3.5 crore) openly unemployed people in the country.
• To this existing pool, each year India adds roughly 10 million (or 1 crore) new job seekers.
• But over the past year, several million have lost their jobs. As a result, as of January 2021, India had only about 400 million employed.
• If we look at Vyas/CMIE data, which is being compiled since 2016, the total number of employed people in India has been steadily coming down. It was 407.3 million in 2016-17 and then fell to 405.9 million in 2017-18, and to 400.9 million at the end of 2018-19.
• India has an labour force participation rate (LFPR) of just about 40%. In other words, in India just 40% of the 20 million joining the working-age group each year actually come forward looking for a job.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the Annual Report of the Ombudsman Schemes for the year 2019-20.

• RBI has three Ombudsmen- Banking, Non-Banking Finance Company (i.e. NBFC) and digital transactions. A common man can approach these Ombudsmen for their grievances.
• As announced in the recent Monetary Policy Statement, the three Ombudsman Schemes are being merged and integrated into a single scheme which will be rolled out starting from June this year.

Key highlights of the report:

• There was an increase of around 65 per cent in the receipt of complaints out of which almost 92 per cent have been disposed of.
• Banking Ombudsman received major complaints regarding ATM & Debit Cards, Mobile & Electronic Banking while NBFC’s Ombudsmen received most complaints about non-observance of regulatory guidelines, lack of transparency in contract/ loan agreement and levy of charges without notice.
• Digital Transactions Ombudsmen received most complaints about fund transfer. RBI has taken various measures for creating awareness among various stakeholders to minimise the grievances.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Vice President Venkaiah Naidu celebrated the International Mother Language Day.

• The day is observed on the 21st of February every year to preserve and promote linguistic diversity and promoting mother tongue-based multilingual education.
• The declaration came up in tribute to the Language Movement done by the Bangladeshis (the then East Pakistanis). In Bangladesh the 21 February is the anniversary of the day when Bangladeshis fought for recognition for the Bangla language.
• UNESCO has been celebrating International Mother Language Day since 2000.
• At least 43 % of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. According to UN data, a language disappears every two weeks taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage.
• Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain.

Hence both statements are correct.

Tripura royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya has recently announced his new political demand of ‘Greater Tipraland’.

• He claims that this would serve the interest of tribals, non-tribals, Tripuri tribals staying outside Tripura, even those outside India in Bandarban, Chittagong, Khagrachari and other border adjacent areas in Bangladesh.
• ‘Greater Tipraland’ is essentially an extension of the ruling tribal partner Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura – IPFT’s demand of Tipraland, which sought a separate state for tribals of Tripura.
• The new demand seeks to include every tribal person living in indigenous area or village outside the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) under the proposed model.
• However, the idea doesn’t restrict to simply the Tripura tribal council areas, but seeks to include ‘Tiprasa’ of Tripuris spread across different states of India like Assam, Mizoram etc. as well, even those living in Bandarban, Chittagong, Khagrachari and other bordering areas of neighbouring Bangladesh.

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that India has become the first country in the world to identify the need for action for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

• He said this while launching the operational guidelines for integration of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease with the National Programme for Prevention & Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke.
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an umbrella term for a range of liver conditions affecting people who drink little to no alcohol. As the name implies, the main characteristic of NAFLD is too much fat stored in liver cells.
• NAFLD is increasingly common around the world, especially in Western nations.
• Some individuals with NAFLD can develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an aggressive form of fatty liver disease, which is marked by liver inflammation and may progress to advanced scarring (cirrhosis) and liver failure.
• This damage is similar to the damage caused by heavy alcohol use.

Hence both statements are correct.

Life Insurance Corporation of India has introduced LIC’s Bima Jyoti a Non-Linked, Non-Participating, Individual, Savings Plan, which offers an attractive combination of protection and savings.

• This plan provides guaranteed lumpsum payment at maturity and financial support to the family in case of the unfortunate death of the policyholder during policy term.
• Guaranteed Additions at the rate of Rs.50 per thousand Basic Sum Assured will be added to the policy at the end of each policy year.
• On death during the policy term after the date of commencement of risk, “Sum Assured on Death” and Accrued Guaranteed Additions as per policy conditions is payable.
• The Minimum Basic Sum Assured is Rs 1,00,000/- with no upper limit. The Policy can be taken for a term of 15 to 20 years with premium paying term calculated as Policy term minus 5 years.
• The minimum age at entry is 90 days completed and maximum age at entry is 60 yrs.

Hence both statements are correct.