Daily Current Affairs MCQ - June 18, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at the 5th edition of VivaTech on 16th June 2021. The 5th edition of VivaTech is scheduled between 16-19 June 2021.

• He invited the world to invest in India based on the five pillars of: Talent, Market, Capital, Eco-system and, Culture of openness.
• The Prime Minister also stressed the strengths like, Indian talent pool, mobile phone penetration and Seven Seventy-Five million internet users, highest and cheap data consumption in the world and the highest use of social media to invite investors to India.

VivaTech

• VivaTech is one of the largest digital and startup events in Europe, held in Paris every year since 2016.
• It is jointly organized by Publicis Groupe – a prominent advertising and marketing conglomerate and Les Echos – a leading French media group.
• It brings together stakeholders in technology innovation and the startup ecosystem and includes exhibitions, awards, panel discussions and startup contests.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by PM Modi, has approved the proposal of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) on "Deep Ocean Mission".

• Objective: To explore deep ocean for resources and develop deep sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.
• The estimated cost of the Mission will be Rs. 4077 crore for a period of 5 years to be implemented in a phase-wise manner. The estimated cost for the first phase for the 3 years (2021-2024) would be Rs.2823.4 crore.
• Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will be the nodal Ministry implementing this multi-institutional ambitious mission.

The Deep Ocean Mission consists of the following six major components:

1. Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining, and Manned Submersible
2. Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services
3. Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity
4. Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration
5. Energy and freshwater from the Ocean
6. Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

The Ministry of Culture (MoC) and Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) signed a MoU for Cooperation in Development of National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal, Gujarat’.

• The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2019.
• Location: National Maritime Heritage Complex, a world-class facility is to be developed in the vicinity of the ASI site of Lothal, located about 80 kms away from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
• Objective: It will showcase and preserve India’s rich and diverse maritime heritage. It will display objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. It also intends to highlight the ancient shipbuilding and navigational technologies developed by India.
• Implementing agencies:
  • The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Shipping through its Sagarmala programme, with the involvement of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the State government and other stakeholders.
  • India and Portugal will cooperate in the setting up of a national maritime heritage museum at Lothal in Gujarat. The Portuguese Navy has agreed to assist with their experience of administering the maritime museum in Lisbon.
• Lothal, an Indus valley site, is one of the oldest man-made dockyards in India.
• Rigveda and Puranic Texts have several references to naval and commercial expeditions.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteristics: floatplanes and flying boats; 

The seaplane service in Kevadia and Sabarmati Riverfront has been operational since October 31, 2020.

Minister of Tribal Affairs launched ADI PRASHIKSHAN portal.

• ADI PRASHIKSHAN portal is developed by the Ministry of tribal affairs.
• It would act as a Central Repository of all training programs conducted by Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs), different divisions of Ministry, National Society for Education of Tribal Students (NESTS), Centre of Excellences funded by Ministry of Tribal Affairs and National Tribal Research Institute.
• It will catalyze and improve the processes of conducting training by making it online and accessible to all. Unified open platform will give users access to authentic knowledge products.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

For those on Earth, Venus is the second-brightest object in the sky after the moon. It appears bright because of its thick cloud cover that reflects and scatters light. But while Venus, which is the second closest planet to the Sun, is called the Earth’s twin because of their similar sizes, the two planets have significant differences between them.

For one, the planet’s thick atmosphere traps heat and is the reason that it is the hottest planet in the solar system, despite coming after Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes.

Further, Venus moves forward on its orbit around the Sun but spins backwards around its axis slowly. This means on Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the East. One day on Venus is equivalent to 243 Earth days because of its backward spinning, opposite to that of the Earth’s and most other planets. Venus also does not have a moon and no rings.

Cooperative banks have long been under dual regulation by the state Registrar of Societies and the RBI. As a result, these banks have escaped scrutiny despite failures and frauds.

The changes to The Banking Regulation Act approved by Parliament in September 2020, brought cooperative banks under the direct supervision of the RBI.

The amended law has given RBI the power to supersede the board of directors of cooperative banks after consultations with the concerned state government. Earlier, it could issue such directions only to multi-state cooperative banks.

Also, urban cooperative banks will now be treated on a par with commercial banks.

And a cooperative bank can, with prior approval of the RBI, issue equity shares, preference shares, or special shares to its members or to any other person residing within its area of operation, by way of public issue or private placements.

It can also issue unsecured debentures or bonds with maturity of not less than 10 years. This essentially means non-members can become shareholders of the bank, and this will allow the RBI to merge failing banks quickly.

Hail is produced by cumulonimbus clouds, which are generally large and dark and may cause thunder and lightning. In such clouds, winds can blow up the water droplets to heights where they freeze into ice. The frozen droplets begin to fall but are soon pushed back up by the winds and more droplets freeze onto them, resulting in multiple layers of ice on the hailstones. This fall and rise is repeated several times, till the hailstones become too heavy and fall down.

Recently, the Department of Science and Technology has launched the Indo-German Science, Technology Centre (IGSTC) Industrial Fellowship. About: It is for young Indian PhD students and Post-Doctoral researchers in Science and Engineering for industrial exposure at German industries and industrial research and development institutions. The fellowship programme supports a grant for a maximum of 1 year. From June 21, application forms for this fellowship will be available.

Recently, Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Arjun Munda launched 'Adi Prashikshan Portal' and 3 -Day Online “Capacity Building Programme for ST PRI Members” under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The portal has been developed by the Ministry in collaboration with UNDP and TRI-Odisha. About: These have been launched as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The portal would be a repository of all training programmes run by the Ministry, TRIs, COEs and EMRS, upcoming NTRI and TRIFED. It will have a database of trainees, trainers and resource persons. Trainees will have access to course material even after completion of training.