Daily Current Affairs MCQ - February 22, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

As part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, The Government of India is holding a week-long commemoration titled Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate from February 22 to 28 simultaneously in 75 locations across the length and breadth of the country.

• As a feather in the cap, a science & technology mega expo, National Science Book Fair are being held in New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru stadium .
• This event is jointly organised by Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, CSIR, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Indian Council of Medical Research, AICTE and DRDO under the leadership of the office of the Principal Scientific Officer to the Government of India and the Ministry of Culture.
• Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organization of DST with a mandate to promote science communication in the country, is the coordinating agency.
• The programmes have been grouped under four themes.
  • The first theme is `from the annals of the history of S&T’.
  • The second theme is, ‘Milestones of Modern S&T’.
  • The third theme is `Swadeshi Paramparik Inventions and Innovations’.
  • The fourth theme is `transforming India’.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Government of India organized an event to recall the foundation of IHRS in London on 18 Feb, 1905 which sought to promote the cause of self-rule in British India.

• The organisation was founded by Shyamji Krishna Varma, with support from a number of prominent Indian nationalists in Britain at the time including Bhikaji Cama, Dadabhai Naoroji and Sardarsinhji Ravaji S. R. Rana.
• It was intended to be a rival organisation to the British Committee of the Indian National Congress that was the main avenue of the loyalist opinion at the time.
• The Indian Home Rule Society was a metropolitan organisation modelled after Victorian public institutions of the time. It had a written constitution and the stated aims to secure Home Rule for India and to carry on a genuine Indian propaganda in this country by all practicable means.
• The IHRS was open for membership to Indians only and found significant support amongst Indian students and other Indian populations in Britain. It recruited young Indian activists and maintained close contact with revolutionary movements in India.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had brought the ashes of Shyamji Krishna Varma back to India from Switzerland in 2003 when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Mr Modi got the reinstatement certificate of Shyamji Krishna Varma from UK when he visited there in 2015.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has made it voluntary for listed companies to separate the role of chairperson and managing director or Chief Executive Officer.

• Separation of roles was to become mandatory from April 1, 2022, for top 500 companies.
• However, in its board meeting this afternoon, the market regulator cited various industry representations, highlighting the constraints posed by the prevailing pandemic situation to make the separation of roles requirement voluntary.
• The reprieve will benefit more than 150 companies, which currently have the same individual as chairperson and MD/CEO. Some of the top companies that will benefit from the move are Reliance Industries (where Mukesh Ambani holds both posts), Hindustan Unilever (Sanjiv Mehta), Bajaj Finserv (Sanjiv Bajaj), and Adani Ports (Gautam Adani).
• A chairperson is the head of the board, while the MD/CEO is the head of management, who is supposed to report to the board. The rationale behind the separation of the two posts was to have “a better and more balanced governance structure”, the regulator said.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Bicycle, the election symbol of the Samajwadi Party (SP) became the target of BJP leaders after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an election rally in Hardoi appeared to link the SP’s symbol with the 2008 Ahmedabad terror blasts.

• As per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, the Election Commission allots symbols for anyone contesting in polls.
• A person contesting on behalf of a recognised political party will inherit the party's symbol.
• An independent candidate or someone contesting on behalf of an unrecognised political party has to approach the Commission and get a symbol allotted from the list of 'free' symbols available.
  • A candidate will have to provide three symbols from the free list at the time of submission of nomination papers, one of which will be allocated to him/her.
  • Any choice other than from the EC's list will be summarily rejected.
• In the case of a recognised political party, the Commission allows it to 'reserve' a symbol.
  • For example, if a political party recognised in a particular State wishes to contest in elections in another State, it can 'reserve' the symbol being used by it.
  • The Commission will oblige, provided the symbol is not being used by anyone else.
• Two or more recognised political parties can have the same symbol provided they are not contenders in the same State or Union Territory.
  • Both Federal Party of Manipur and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) use 'Rising Sun' as their symbol.
  • But if one of the parties wish to open their account in the other State, it will have to contest on a different symbol.
• Losing the symbol?
  • The ECI may also derecognise a political party if it has not polled at least 6 % of votes or won two seats in the State elections. In case of a national party, it should have polled minimum 6 % votes and 2 MLAs in at least four States.
  • Until 1997, unrecognised parties would lose their symbols. Later, the EC modified its order to allow them to retain its symbol.

Hence both statements are correct.

President Ram Nath Kovind will take part in the Indian Navy’s 12th Presidential Fleet Review.

• President’s Fleet Review is the country’s President taking stock of the Navy’s capability.
• It takes place once under every President, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces.
• The President is taken on one of the Naval ships, which is called the President’s Yacht, to look at all the ships docked on one of the Naval ports.
• The President’s Yacht this year “is an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel, INS Sumitra, which will lead the Presidential Column. The yacht will be distinguished by the Ashoka Emblem on her side and will fly the President’s Standard on the Mast”.
• The idea is to showcase not all the Navy’s ships, but every type of ship — and the kind of capabilities it has at that time. The review also includes merchant ships.
• In the current fleet review, which will take place in Vishakhapatnam, Kovind will review over 60 ships and submarines, and 55 aircraft, from the Navy and the Coast Guard.

How many of these reviews have been held?

• There have been 11 President’s Fleet Reviews since Independence.
• The first was conducted in 1953, under Dr Rajendra Prasad. The next one was done not by the President but by the then Defence Minister, Y B Chavan, in 1964.
• Since then, it has been the President reviewing the fleet.
• The last one was done in 2016, under President Pranab Mukherjee.
• The reviews in 2001 and 2016 were International Fleet Reviews, in which some vessels from other countries also participated.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

• The formalization of Mizoram State took place on 20th February, 1987 after the 53rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution, 1986.
• The Mizo hills area became the Lushai Hills district within Assam at the time of independence. Further, in 1954 it was renamed the Mizo Hills District of Assam.
  • Mizoram was granted the status of a Union Territory in 1972 after signing an accord with the moderates of the Mizo National Front (MNF).
  • The Union Territory of Mizoram was conferred the status of a full state in 1986 after signing of a memorandum of settlement (Mizoram Peace Accord) between the Central government and the MNF. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
• According to India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2021 Mizoram has the maximum forest cover as a percentage of their own geographical area at (84.53%) from the North eastern region of the country. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Protected Areas:
  • Dampa Tiger Reserve
  • Murlen National Park
  • Phawngpui National Park
  • Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Tawi Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• A neutrino is a fundamental elementary particle, and atmospheric neutrinos can be studied when solar radiation hits the earth’s atmosphere. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• They are very hard to detect as they hardly interact with other forms of matter due to their lack of electrical charge. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • However, they seem to play an important role in the universe of elementary physics, which physicists have been trying to understand for a few decades now.
• They are produced in high-energy processes such as within stars and in supernovae.
• On earth, they are produced by particle accelerators and nuclear power plants.
• They are produced in high-energy processes such as within stars and in supernovae. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• On earth, they are produced by particle accelerators and nuclear power plants.
• So far, neutrino physics has been mostly limited to outer space sources, observing neutrinos from farther-away stars and galaxies.

Green Hydrogen/Green Ammonia Policy

• Under the policy, the government is offering to set up manufacturing zones for production, connectivity to the ISTS (Inter-State Transmission System) on priority basis, and free transmission for 25 years if the production facility is commissioned before June 2025. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • This means that a green hydrogen producer will be able to set up a solar power plant in Rajasthan to supply renewable energy to a green hydrogen plant in Assam and would not be required to pay any inter-state transmission charges.
  • Besides, producers will be allowed to set up bunkers near ports for storage of green ammonia for export by shipping. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Production target has also been raised five times from 1 million tonnes (m) to 5 mt by 2030.
  • In October, 2021 it was announced that India is targeting initially around 1 million tonnes annual green hydrogen production by 2030.
• Manufacturers of Green hydrogen and ammonia are allowed to purchase renewable power from the power exchange or set up Renewable Energy (RE) capacity themselves or through any other developer, anywhere.
• Further, it provides facility for producers to bank any surplus renewable energy generated with discoms (power distribution companies) for upto 30 days and use it as required.
• Discoms may also procure renewable energy to supply green hydrogen producers but will be required to do so at a concessional rate which will only include the cost of procurement, wheeling charges and a small margin as determined by the state commission, under the new policy.
  • Such procurement would also count towards a state’s Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) under which it is required to procure a certain proportion of its requirements from renewable energy sources.
• To ensure ease of doing business a single portal for carrying out all the activities including statutory clearances in a time bound manner will be set up by MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy).

Geospatial Technology

• Geospatial technology uses tools like GIS (Geographic Information System), GPS (Global Positioning System) and Remote Sensing for geographic mapping and analysis. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• These tools capture spatial information about objects, events and phenomena (indexed to their geographical location on earth, geotag). The location data may be Static or Dynamic. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• Static location data include position of a road, an earthquake event or malnutrition among children in a particular region while dynamic location data include data related to a moving vehicle or pedestrian, the spread of an infectious disease etc.
• The technology may be used to create intelligent maps to help identify spatial patterns in large volumes of data.
• The technology facilitates decision making based on the importance and priority of scarce resources.

Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh will launch Rural Connectivity GIS Data in Public Domain on 22nd February, 2022 in India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched in the year 2000, with an objective to provide all-weather road connectivity to eligible unconnected habitations throughout the nation.
• Later on upgradation and consolidation of through routes and major rural links was also included as its objective to give fillip to the rural economy. Since inception, 7.83 lakh Km roads have been sanctioned and 6.90 lakh Km have been constructed with an expenditure of Rs. 2.69 lakh crores.
• As part of the implementation of PMGSY, GIS data for 800,000+ rural facilities as points, 1 Million + habitations and 25,00,000+ km of rural roads have been collected and digitised using GIS platform developed for the scheme. The collected rural connectivity GIS data will be available to the public.

Gati Shakti

• NRIDA, the nodal implementation agency of PMGSY scheme will be signing MoU with 3 renowned GIS Firms & collaborating with Gati Shakti for releasing the Rural Connectivity GIS Data in Public Domain.
• Gati Shakti is a national master plan and digital platform to plan and execute infrastructure projects in India to reduce logistics costs and enhance infrastructure. NRIDA is collaborating with
• Gati Shakti with an objective to exchange the data for the better planning and implementation of both the schemes.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.