Daily Current Affairs MCQ - February 25, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The 25th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held in Mumbai, under the Chairpersonship of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

• It was setup in 2010 by Indian Government as an executive body. It replaced the High Level Coordination Committee on Financial Markets (HLCCFM). The idea to create such a super regulatory body was first mooted by the Raghuram Rajan Committee in 2008.
• Status: FSDC is not a statutory body. No funds are separately allocated to the council for undertaking its activities.
• Objective: Its objectives are to strengthen and institutionalize the mechanism for maintaining financial stability and Enhancing inter-regulatory coordination. It also focuses on financial literacy and financial inclusion.
• Composition: It is chaired by the Union Finance Minister of India. The other 12 members are
  • Governor, RBI,
  • Chairman, SEBI,
  • Chairman, IRDA,
  • Chairman, PFRDA,
  • Minister of state responsible for the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA),
  • Secretary of Department of Electronics and Information Technology’,
  • Revenue secretary,
  • Finance Secretary and/or Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs;
  • Secretary, Department of Financial Services;
  • Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs,
  • Chief Economic Adviser and
  • Chairperson of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
• Sub-committee of FSDC: A sub-committee of FSDC has also been set up under the chairmanship of Governor RBI. It discusses and decides on a range of issues relating to financial sector development and stability including substantive issues relating to inter-regulatory coordination.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute (WRI), India, with the support of GIZ India, conducted a virtual consultation workshop on ‘Financing for Decarbonization of Transport’ as part of the NDC-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) project.

• The NDC-TIA is a joint programme of seven organizations that engages India, China and Vietnam in promoting a comprehensive approach to decarbonizing transport in their respective countries.
• The project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
• The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports the initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag.
• NITI Aayog is the implementing partner for the India component of the project.

Hence both statements are correct.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called upon insurgency groups operating in Manipur to shun violence and come to the negotiating table.

Rise of insurgency in Manipur

• The emergence of insurgency in Manipur dates back to 1964 with the formation of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), which still remains one of the formidable militant outfits.
• The rise of separatist insurgency in Manipur mainly attributed to perceived discontent over alleged “forced” merger of Manipur with the Union of India and the subsequent delay in granting it full-fledged statehood.
• While the erstwhile Kingdom of Manipur was merged with India on October 15, 1949, it became a state only in 1972.
• The Naga movement in neighbouring Nagaland spilled over into Manipur’s hill districts with the NSCN-IM controlling most of it while pressing for “Nagalim” (Greater Nagaland), which is perceived in the valley as a “threat” to Manipur’s “territorial integrity”.
• In the early 1990s, the ethnic clashes between Nagas and Kukis led to the formation of several Kuki insurgent groups, which have now scaled down their demand from a separate Kuki state to a Territorial Council.

Ceasefire agreement

• The NSCN-IM entered a ceasefire agreement with the Government of India (GoI) in 1997, even as peace talks between them have still been continuing.
• Similarly, the Kuki outfits under two umbrella groups, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF), also signed the tripartite Suspension of Operation (SoO) pacts with the GoI and Manipur on August 22, 2008.
• However, major valley-based militant outfits (Meitei groups) such as the UNLF, PLA, KYKL etc. are yet to come to the negotiating table.

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister for Ports ,Shipping and Waerways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Nikarshan Sadan” – The DCI (Dredging Corporation of India) Dredging Museum at DCI campus in Vishakhapatnam .

Nikarshan Sadan

• The museum displayed models of different types of dredgers, vintage photos & historical milestones of this dredging behemoth from the Eastern Port City of Vizag.
• Dredging Corporation of India Limited, or DCI, is unit engaged in the business of dredging. Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment.
• DCI is headquartered at Visakhapatnam and reports to the Ministry of Shipping.

Centre of Excellence in Maritime and Shipbuilding (CEMS)

• Sarbananda Sonowal also inaugurated skill development facility -Centre of Excellence in Maritime and Shipbuilding (CEMS) at a function in Visakhapatnam.
• CEMS also has a Mumbai campus at the Head Office of Indian Register of Shipping which mainly caters to re-skilling.
• CEMS equips students with employable engineering and technical skills in the areas of Ship Hull Design, Ship Detailed Design, Shipbuilding & Maintenance etc.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India has launched Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) on 30th September 2020.

• Objective is to boost entrepreneurship and innovation among the SC students/SC Divyang youth.
• The companies/entrepreneurs owned by Scheduled Castes enrolled /registered with Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) are eligible to get maximum capital of Rs.30 lakhs over a period of 3 years i.e. Rs.10 lakhs every year.
• Financial support of up to Rs.10 lakhs per year for a period of 3 years aggregating to Rs.30 Lakhs shall be provided to eligible applicants as equity funding.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Parliament passed the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020. Now the Bill will go to the President of India for his assent.

• The Bill is more compact in comparison to the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 as the number of sections has been reduced to 76 from 134 by eliminating overlapping and obsolete Sections.
• The new Bill has proposed a simplified composition of the Board of Port Authority which will comprise of 11 to 13 Members from the present 17 to 19 Members representing various interests.
• The role of Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) has been redefined. Port Authority has now been given powers to fix tariff which will act as a reference tariff for purposes of bidding for PPP projects. PPP operators will be free to fix tariff- based on market conditions.
• The Board of Port Authority has been delegated the power to fix the scale of rates for other port services and assets including land.
• An Adjudicatory Board has been proposed to be created to carry out the residual function of the erstwhile TAMP for Major Ports, to look into disputes between ports and PPP concessionaires
• The Boards of Port Authority have been delegated full powers to enter into contracts, planning and development, fixing of tariff except in national interest, security and emergency arising out of inaction and default. In the present MPT Act, 1963 prior approval of the Central Government was required in 22 instances.
• The Board of each Major Port shall be entitled to create specific master plan in respect of any development or infrastructure.
• Provisions of CSR & development of infrastructure by Port Authority have been introduced.
• Provision has been made for safeguarding the pay & allowances and service conditions including pensionary benefits of the employees of major ports

Hence both statements are correct.

NITI Aayog has constituted a sub-group to prepare a National Action Plan for Migrant Workers.

• The sub-group comprises the members from various Ministries of Govt. of India, subject experts, NGOs and civil society organisations, to prepare a tangible action plan to address issues related to migrant workers.
• In order to safeguard the interest of the migrant workers, the Central Government had enacted the Inter-state Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.
• This Act has now been subsumed in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and the Code has been notified on 29.09.2020.
• The above mentioned code, commonly known as OSH Code, provides for decent working conditions, minimum wages, grievances redressal mechanisms, protection from abuse and exploitation, enhancement of the skills and social security to all category of organised and unorganised workers including Migrant workers.
• The relevant provisions of the Code are applicable to every establishment in which 10 or more inter-state migrant workers are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding 12 months.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Union Agriculture Minister graces the occasion as chief guest on World Pulses Day.

• The UN General Assembly in 2019 decided to dedicate a day to Pulses to increase awareness and access to pulses globally known as World Pulses Day.
• The World Pulses Day falls on February 10 every year and recognised Pulses as a global food.
• On World Pulses Day, people make efforts in creating awareness about the importance of Pulses in sustainable food production.
• The UN General Assembly after recognizing the value of pulses in 2013, adopted 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP).
• World Pulses Day 2021 theme is #LovePulses.

Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs accorded approval to the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for Grant-in-aid of Rs.100 crore to Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizers Corporation Limited (BVFCL), Namrup (Assam) to sustain operations of it's urea manufacturing units.

• BVFCL, Namrup is a Public Sector Undertaking formed as per Companies Act, under the administrative control of the Department of Fertilizers (DoF), Government of India.
• At present, the Company is operating its two vintage plants viz. Namrup-ll and Namrup-lll in the premises of BVFCL in Namrup, Assam.
• The grant in aid of Rs. 100 crore to BVFCL will restore the urea production capacity of 3.90 Lac MT per annum and ensure timely availability of Urea to Tea Industry & Farming Sector in the entire North Eastern region specially Assam.

Hence both statements are correct.

Days AFTER the Centre asked Twitter to “suspend or block” nearly 1,200 accounts, citing “misinformation and provocative content” on the farmers’ protest, several ministers and departments of the Union government have started flocking on Koo App — a homemade version of the social networking platform.

• The microblogging site was co-founded by entrepreneurs Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidwatka. Radhakrishna had founded online cab booking service TaxiForSure, which was subsequently sold to Ola Cabs.
• While the app was launched in early 2020, its participation and the subsequent winning of the government’s Atmanirbhar App Innovation Challenge brought it under the limelight.
• The app, along with other India-made apps like Zoho and Chingari — the local version of TikTok, won the challenge, which was launched by the Centre close on the heels of banning scores of apps with Chinese links citing national security concerns.
• Following the outcome of the Atmanirbhar App Innovation Challenge, the app was also mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Mann Ki Baat address.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.