Daily Current Affairs MCQ- June 15, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Various organisations have written letter to the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) over the increasing surveillance of sanitation workers.

• National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK)
  • NCSK was established as an institution to investigate the conditions of Safai Karamcharis (waste collectors) in India and make recommendations to the Government.
  • It is currently a non-statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
  • The NCSK was established in the year 1993 as per the provisions of the NCSK Act 1993 initially for the period upto 31.3.1997.
  • Hence, initially NCSK was established as a statutory body.
  • Later the validity of the Act was initially extended up to 2002 and thereafter up to 2004.
  • The NCSK Act ceased to have effect from 29.2.2004.
  • After that the tenure of the NCSK has been extended as a non-statutory body from time to time through resolutions.
  • The tenure of the present Commission was up to March 2022. However, it was extended further for a period of three years.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Union Home Ministry has issued a set of guidelines to the States and the UTs on the grant of special remission to prisoners.

• Remission is the complete ending of a sentence at a reduced point.
• Remission is distinct from both furlough and parole in that it is a reduction in sentence as opposed to a break from prison life.
• The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides for remission of prison sentences, which means the whole or a part of the sentence may be cancelled.
• Under Section 432, the ‘appropriate government’ may suspend or remit a sentence, in whole or in part, with or without conditions.
• Under Section 433, any sentence may be commuted to a lesser one by the appropriate government.
• This power is available to State governments so that they may order the release of prisoners before they complete their prison terms.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Election Commission of India has announced the schedule of election for the 16th Presidential Election.

• The term of office of Shri Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, is ending on 24th July, 2022.
• As per Article 62 of the Constitution of India, an election to fill the vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of office of the outgoing President is required to be completed before the expiration of the term.
• Article 324 of the Constitution read with the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, and the Presidential and Vice – Presidential Elections Rules, 1974 vests the superintendence, direction and control of the conduct of election to the office of the President of India in the Election Commission of India.
• As per the Article 54 of the Constitution of India, the President is elected by the members of the Electoral College consisting of:
  • elected members of both Houses of Parliament, and
  • elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States including National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry
• Nominated members of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, and members of state Legislative Councils, are not part of the electoral college.
• Article 55 (3) of the Constitution provides that the election shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
• The votes are weighted, their value determined by the population of each state as per Census 1971.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Government of India clarified that the TDS on virtual digital assets (VDA) continues to be 1%.

• The clarification from the Income Tax comes at a time when some media reports mentioned that the TDS rate for virtual digital assets has been dropped to 0.1% from 1% as announced earlier in the budget.
• The 1% TDS will be applicable from July 1.
• The Centre had set a 30% taxation on the gains from the cryptocurrency assets.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

• The Reserve Bank of India has set up a Regulations Review Authority (RRA 2.0). Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• RRA 2.0 will reduce the compliance burden of the entities under regulations. The RRA 2.0 will achieve this by simplifying procedures and reducing reporting requirements wherever possible. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Regulated Entity is subject under law to any of the laws, rules or regulations respecting the financial, organizational or rate regulation of electric companies, public utilities, or public utility holding companies. Commercial banks, urban co-operative banks, non-banking financial companies come under regulated entities. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• RRA examines and suggests the changes required in dissemination process of RBI circulars/ instructions (this would entail suggestions on the areas where the manner of issuing circulars, updating and website linkages). Hence, statement 4 is correct.

• Biomass co-firing is the practice of substituting a part of the fuel with biomass at coal thermal plants.
  • The Union Ministry of Power, while presenting the Union Budget in February 2022 , mandated 5-10 % co-firing at every thermal power plant in the country. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Significance of Biomass CO-firing:
  • It is an effective way to curb emissions from open burning of crop residue; it also decarbonises the process of electricity generation using coal.
  • It can help cut emissions from combustion of fossil fuels, address India’s burgeoning problem of farm stubble burning to some extent, reduce waste burden while also creating jobs in rural areas.
• Challenges in Biomass Co-Firing:
  • Around 95,000-96,000 tonnes of biomass pellets are required per day for co-firing, however, India’s pellet manufacturing capacity is 7,000 tonnes per day at present despite a surplus 228 million tonnes of agricultural residue available in the country. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
  • Only pellets with up to 14% of moisture can be used for combustion along with coal. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):

• It was drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world.
  • The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris in December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations.
• UDHR consists of 30 rights and freedoms including civil and political rights, like the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy and economic, social and cultural rights, like the right to social security, health and education, etc.
  • India took an active part in drafting of the UDHR. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• The UDHR is not a treaty, so it does not directly create legal obligations for countries. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols (on the complaints procedure and on the death penalty) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol, form the so-called International Bill of Human Rights.

Delhi-based NGO Toxics Link released a study this week titled, “Quantitative analysis of Microplastics along River Ganga”, which has found that the river – which flows through five states covering about 2,500 km before flowing into the Bay of Bengal – is heavily polluted with microplastics.

• Among the range of plastic debris that is found in water bodies, microplastics are the most notorious because of their small size, on average microplastics are less than 5 mm in length or roughly equal to five pinheads.
• Apart from humans, microplastics are harmful to marine species as well. More than 663 marine species are affected by marine debris and 11 percent of them are said to be related to microplastic ingestion, the study says.
• Because microplastics are so small, they are ingested by marine habitants including fish, corals, planktons and sea mammals and are then carried further into the food chain.
• In the case of humans, most of the microplastics can be found in food, water and food containers and their ingestion can cause health problems.
• In May 2015, the government approved the Namami Gange (which receives a 100 percent funding from the central government) programme to clean and protect the river.
• Programmes launched before this include the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) in 1985, the IIT Consortium (2011) for water diversion and effective treatment, and the National Mission for Clean Ganga in 2011.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

In order to promote Agar tree, Agarwood based industry, its plantation, it’s sustainable harvesting, the Tripura government released the ‘Tripura AgarWood Policy 2021.’

• Tripura AgarWood Policy 2021 aims to double agarwood plantation by the year 2025. The policy attempts to make Rs.20 billion industry in the next 5 years.
• Distribution: Agarwood is an economically important and fast-growing evergreen tree species native to North East India. Apart from India, the Agar tree’s distribution ranges from the foothills of the Himalayas to Papua New Guinea.
• Formation: The most expensive raw material in the world, fragrant Agarwood is formed due to complex biotic, abiotic and stress-induced resin on the Aquilaria trees. In the formation of oils, the wood of the tree must first become infected with mold named Phialophora Parasitica.
• Usage: This fragrant dark resinous wood, Agarwood is used in incense, perfume, and small carvings.
• Cultural significance: It is said that the state capital of Tripura, Agartala has derived its name from Agarwood. Agarwood is described as a fragrant product of wealth and luxury in one of the world’s oldest written texts of Vedas.

Hence both statements are correct.

Indian scientists discover materials that self-repair mechanical damages.

• Devices that we use daily often break down due to mechanical damage, forcing us either to repair or replace them.
• This decreases the life of the equipment and increases maintenance costs. In many cases, like in space crafts, human intervention for restoration is not possible.

Piezoelectric crystals

• Keeping such necessities in mind, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, teaming up with IIT Kharagpur, have developed piezoelectric molecular crystals that repair themselves from mechanical damages without need for any external intervention.
• Piezoelectric crystals are a class of materials that generate electricity when it undergoes a mechanical impact.

Bipyrazole organic crystals

• The piezoelectric molecules developed by the scientists called bipyrazole organic crystals recombine following mechanical fracture without any external intervention, autonomously self-healing in milliseconds with crystallographic precision.
• In these molecular solids, due to the unique property of generating electrical charges on mechanical impact, the broken pieces acquire electrical charges at the crack junction, leading to attraction by damaged parts and precise autonomous repair.

Hence both statements are correct.