Daily Current Affairs MCQ- January 27, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is helping the people working in the waste segregation industry in India to move into formal economy, by helping them access government welfare programmes. 

• As part of the initiative, the UNDP will distribute the `Jan Dhan’ account kits to waste segregation workers.
• The opening of the `Jan Dhan’ accounts has been facilitated through the UNDP’s plastic waste management programme.
• The waste management promotes the collection, segregation, and recycling of all plastics to move towards a circular economy for the same.
• This is done at ‘Swachhta Kendra’ or material recovery facilities.
• The plastic collected and processed so far has already crossed 1,38,000 metric tonnes.
• The programme also ensures the well-being and financial inclusion of the `Safai Sathis’ or waste-pickers, by linking them to the social protection schemes.
• According to the UN agency, a key objective of the programme is to help move the sector from informal to formal.
• This is done by linking them to social protection schemes like the `Jan Dhan’ accounts, Aadhar cards, `Ayushman Bharat’, pension schemes, and scholarships for children, among others.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the BSF personnel and their families on the occasion of BSF's Raising Day.

• Border Security Force (BSF) celebrates its Raising Day on 1 December every year.
• It was on December 1, 1965 that the first sector of the Punjab Frontier of the BSF was raised with its headquarters in Jalandhar.
• Currently, BSF comprises 2.65 lakh personnel, deployed across the international border in 193 battalions.
• BSF plays a crucial role in containing unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India and it prevents transborder crimes.
• It also works towards stopping illegal activities such as smuggling.
• After the Indian Army, the BSF is the only Central Armed Police Force in the nation that has an independent air wing, effective artillery regiment, dedicated marine division and a special intelligence branch.
• The BSF is also the sole paramilitary organisation globally to use an active camel cavalry to patrol the sands of the Thar Desert, which comprise of the common border between India and Pakistan.
• The ‘Creek Crocodile - a Quick Reaction Team made of BSF commandos - was also raised to counter threats like that of 26/11.
  • They guard the brackish waters of the Kutch region in Sir Creek to prevent cross-border infiltration.
• Despite being a border force, more than 7,000 women of all ranks are serving in the force on the eastern and western theatre.
• This year, BSF will be celebrating its raising day for the first time in Punjab and second time outside Delhi.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

In a major boost to further strengthening the Coast Guard Region East, 840 Sqn (CG), an Indian Coast Guard Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mk-III squadron, was commissioned at ICG Air Station, Chennai on November 30, 2022.

• The ALH MK III helicopters have been indigenously manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• They feature state-of-the-art equipment including advanced RADAR as well as Electro optical sensors, Shakti engines, full glass cockpit, high-intensity searchlight, advanced communication systems, automatic identification system as well as search-and-rescue homer.
• The features enable them to undertake maritime reconnaissance as well as carry out SAR at extended ranges even while operating from ships during both day and night.
• The aircraft has the ability to switch roles from an offensive platform with a heavy machine gun to that of a benign one carrying a Medical Intensive Care Unit to facilitate the transfer of critically ill patients.
• A total of 16 ALH Mk-III aircraft have been inducted into the Indian Coast Guard in a phased manner and four of these aircraft are positioned in Chennai.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released India’s economic growth data for the second quarter of the current financial year (2022-23 or FY23).

• The second quarter or Q2 refers to the months of July, August and September.
• India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.3 per cent in Q2 on a year-on-year basis.
• In other words, it was 6.3% more than the GDP in the same months in 2021.
• MoSPI also reported that India’s Gross Value Added (GVA) in Q2 grew by. 5.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

GDP and GVA:

• GDP and GVA are the two main ways to ascertain the country’s economic performance.
• Both are measures of national income.
• The GDP measures the monetary measure of all “final” goods and services— those that are bought by the final user— produced in a country in a given period.
• The GDP does this by adding up the total expenditures in the economy; in other words, it looks at who spent how much.
• That is why GDP captures the total “demand” in the economy.

There are four key “engines of GDP growth”. These are:

• All the money Indians spent for their private consumption (that is, Private Final Consumption Expenditure or PFCE)
• All the money the government spent on its current consumption, such as salaries [Government Final Consumption Expenditure or GFCE]
• All the money spent towards investments to boost the productive capacity of the economy. This includes business firms investing in factories or the governments building roads and bridges [Gross Fixed Capital Expenditure]
• The net effect of exports (what foreigners spent on our goods) and imports (what Indians spent on foreign goods) [Net Exports or NX].

GVA:

• The GVA calculates the same national income from the supply side.
• It does so by adding up all the value added across different sectors.
• According to the RBI, the GVA of a sector is defined as the value of output minus the value of its intermediary inputs.
• This “value added” is shared among the primary factors of production, labour and capital.
• The GDP and GVA are related by the following equation:
  • GDP = (GVA) + (Taxes earned by the government) — (Subsidies provided by the government).
• Hence both statements are correct.

The G-20 Sherpa meeting will be held at Udaipur in Rajasthan from December 5 to 7.

• This will be the first G20 Sherpa Meeting in India.
• The meeting is aimed at fostering growth and building bonds amongst the twenty nations.
• The Sherpa Meeting of the G20 Summit is a preliminary meeting of the government representatives before the main G20 Summit.
• Here the representatives of the member nations hold discussions to firm up possible agreements.
• The final decisions are taken at the G20 summit by the Heads of States.
• Ahead of the main G20 Summit, the Sherpas meeting ensures that the time and resources required at the time of negotiations of the larger heads of state at the final summit are minimized.
• The former CEO of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant is the G20 Sherpa from India.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Supreme Court of India recently requested the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change to consider launching ‘Project Great Indian Bustard (GIB)’ like one for tigers.

• The Great Indian Bustard, found mainly in the Indian subcontinent, is the flagship grassland species of India.
• It is one of the largest flying birds in the world, and India’s heaviest flying bird.
• The male bird weighs upto 12-15 kg and female bird up to 5-8 kg.

Physical description:

• Black crown on the forehead contrasting with the pale neck and head.
• The body is brownish and the wings are marked with black, brown and grey.
• Diet: They feed on grass seeds, insects like grasshoppers and beetles, and sometimes even small rodents and reptiles. The species primarily feed on meswak, sewan grass.

Distribution:

• Its population of about 150 in Rajasthan accounts for 95% of its total world population.
• They are mainly in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, including the Desert National Park which is the natural habitat of the species.
• Grasslands of Kutch in Gujarat which is home to second-largest bustard population in India.
• Arid regions of Maharashtra (Solapur), Karnataka (Bellary and Haveri) and Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool)
• It is the State bird of Rajasthan.

Conservation status:

• Listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972,
• Listed in Appendix I of CITES,
• Listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Manthan platform won NSEIT the Best Tech Initiative of the Year at the Dun & Bradstreet Business Excellence Awards 2022.

• The award was presented for building the technology infrastructure to support Manthan.
• Manthan is a platform that promotes collaboration at scale between industry and the scientific research and development ecosystem.
• The development of the platform was conceptualized and implemented by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India.
• It is aimed at promoting collaboration between industry and the scientific research and development ecosystem.
• It was launched on India’s 76th Independence Day.
• Manthan empowers multiple stakeholders to collaborate for co-creating solutions aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our national scientific missions.

NSEIT:

• NSEIT Limited is a global technology enterprise focused on delivering excellence in a complex digital environment, primarily in the banking, insurance, and capital market ecosystem.
• It is a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India.
• Their key service pillars are Application Modernization, Business Transformation, Data Analytics, Infrastructure & Cloud Services, Cybersecurity, EdTech, and online examinations solutions.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Prime Minister of India recently addressed the Manipur Sangai Festival.

• Every year the State of Manipur celebrates the “Manipur Sangai Festival” from 21st to 30th November.
• The objective is to showcase Manipur as a world class tourism destination.
• The ‘Festival’ is named after the State animal, Sangai, the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur.
• It started in the year 2010.
• The theme of this year’s Sangai festival is “Festival of oneness”.
• Every edition of the festival showcases the tourism potential of the state in the field of Arts & Culture, Handloom, Handicrafts, Indigenous Sports, Cuisine and Music of the state etc. 

Sangai Deer:

• Scientific Name: Rucervus eldii.
• Common Name: Sangai, Brow antlered deer, Dancing Deer.
• Population: About 260 (acc. to a joint census conducted by the Forest Department in 2016).
• Habitat and Distribution: It is found only in Keibul Lamjao National Park – the largest single mass of phumdi is in the Loktak Lake – in Manipur’s Bishnupur district.

Characteristics:

• Sangai is a medium-sized deer, with uniquely distinctive antlers, with extremely long brow tine, which form the main beam.
• The forward protruding beam appears to come out from the eyebrow, hence called the brow-antlered deer.
• It has a dark reddish-brown winter coat, which turns paler in summer.
• The deer walks on the hind surface of its pasterns with mincing hops over floating foliage, and is hence also called the Dancing Deer.

Status:

• State animal of Manipur.
• Schedule-1 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Endangered on IUCN Red List.

Conservation Issues:

• Sangai faces threat from steadily degenerating habitat of phumdi as a result of continuous inundation and flooding caused due to artificial reservoir.
• There is also invasion of non-native plants like Paragrass.
• It also faces threats of diseases from the livestock, inbreeding depression and poaching.

Hence both statements are not correct.

National Anti-Doping Agency will host an Inclusion Conclave to sharpen the focus on anti-doping education and processes for athletes with disabilities.

• NADA was established by the Government of India, with the objective of acting as the independent Anti-Doping Organization for India having a vision of dope-free sports.
• It was set up as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 on November 2005.
• The primary functions of NADA are as under:
  • To implement the Anti-Doping Code to achieve compliance by all sports organizations in the Country.
  • To coordinate dope testing program through all participating stakeholders.
  • To promote anti-doping research and education to inculcate the value of dope free sports.
  • To adopt best practice standards and quality systems to enable effective implementation and continual improvement of the program.

Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE)

• Athletes may have illnesses or conditions that require them to take medications or undergo procedures. If the medication or method is prohibited as per the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Prohibited List, a TUE may give that athlete the authorization to use that substance or method while competing without invoking an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) and applicable sanction.
• Applications for TUEs are evaluated by a panel of physicians the TUE Committee (TUEC). NADO TUEs are only valid for national-level Competition and Out-of-Competition Testing.

The World Anti-Doping Agency

• The World Anti-Doping Agency is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against drugs in sports.
• The agency's key activities include monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code, whose provisions are enforced by the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport.
• Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• Established in: 1999.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Baguette — the staple French bread — was recently inscribed into the UN’s list of intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

• The baguette is a long and thin loaf made of flour, water, salt and yeast, and is consumed as a staple in France. Some believe that it was invented by August Zang, a baker and an entrepreneur from Vienna in 1839.
• In March 2021, France nominated the baguette as its candidate for consideration within the UNESCO ICH list. It drew attention to the steady decline in the number of bakeries in the country as around 20,000 of them have closed down since 1970.

Intangible cultural heritage

• UNESCO defines “intangible” as “expressions that have been passed from one generation to another, have evolved in response to their environments and contribute to giving us a sense of identity and continuity…”
• ‘Intangible cultural heritage’ includes “oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.”

Criteria for the selection

• There are three criteria for an intangible cultural heritage to be inscribed in the United Nations list. The entity must
  1. be recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their cultural heritage
  2. be transmitted from generation to generation and be constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history and
  3. provide them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity,”.

Hence both statements are correct.