Daily Current Affairs MCQ - June 9, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

The Education Ministry released the latest edition of the Performance Grading Index or PGI. The Education Ministry released the first PGI in 2019 for the reference year 2017-18.

• States are scored on a total of 1,000 points across 70 parameters, which are grouped under five broad categories: access; governance and management; infrastructure; equity and learning outcomes.
• States are graded under it. The PGI grading system has 10 levels.
  • Level 1 indicates top-notch performance and a score between 951 and 1,000 points.
  • Level II, also known as Grade 1++, indicates a score between 901 and 950.
  • Those with Grade 1+ (or Level III) have scored between 851 and 900.
  • The lowest is Grade VII, and it means a score between 0 and 550 points.
• In PGI 2019-20, no state or Union Territory could achieve the highest grade, that is Level I.
• Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Kerala have scored more than 90% and obtained Grade 1++ (or Level II), which makes them the best performing states.
• The top-performing states of Gujarat, Chandigarh, and Kerala in 2018-19 were given Grade 1+ (or Level III), that is, a score between 851 and 900 points.
• Only the UT of Ladakh has been placed in the lowest grade, that is Grade VII, but that’s because it was the first time it was assessed after it was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.
• Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

NHPC limited, India’s premier hydropower company under Ministry of Power has formed a joint venture company, “Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited” for the implementation of 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project.

• The JVC has been incorporated on 01.06.2021 with NHPC and Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Ltd (JKSPDC) holding equity share of 51% and 49% respectively.
• Ratle Hydoelectric Project (850 MW), is a Run of River Scheme located on River Chenab, Kishtwar district, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• In January 2021, the Union Cabinet has given its approval for the investment of Rs.5281.94 crore for 850 MW Ratle Hydro Electric (HE) Project. It shall be commissioned within a span of 5 years.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

India has been elected to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC for the term 2022-24.

• The UN Charter established ECOSOC in 1945 as one of the six main organs of the United Nations.
• Members:
  • The Council consists of 54 Members States, which are elected yearly by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.
  • Seats on the Council are allotted based on geographical representation with 14 allocated to African states, 11 to Asian states, six to eastern European states, 10 to Latin American and Caribbean states and 13 to western European and other states.
• Mandate:
  • It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals.
  • It is also responsible for the follow-up to major UN conferences and summits.
• ECOSOC’s annual High-Level Segment includes:
  • High-Level Political Forum, which reviews implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, is convened under the auspices of the Council every July.
  • Development Cooperation Forum reviews trends and progress in development cooperation.
• Specialised agencies: The specialized agencies of the United Nations are autonomous organizations working within the United Nations System, meaning that while they report their activities to the Economic and Social Council, they are mostly free to their own devices.
• Hence both statements are correct.

INS Sandhayak, the Indian Navy's oldest Hydrographic Survey Vessel was decommissioned at Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam after serving the nation for 40 glorious years.

• INS Sandhayak undertook over 200 major hydrographic surveys.
• The ship also took part in important operations like
  • Op Pawan in Sri Lanka, 1987,
  • Op Rainbow for Humanitarian Assistance in the aftermath of the Tsunami in 2004 and
  • the maiden Indo-US HADR Exercise Tiger-Triumph in 2019.
• The Sandhayak-class survey ships are a series of eight vessels built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata and Goa Shipyard, Ltd., Vasco for the Indian Navy.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

The World Bank has approved a USD 500 million program to help boost India’s MSME sector.

• The USD 500 million Raising and Accelerating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Performance (RAMP) Program is the World Bank’s second intervention in this sector.
• The first being the USD 750 million MSME Emergency Response Program, approved in July 2020 to address the immediate liquidity and credit needs of millions of viable MSMEs severely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Features

• The programme targets improvements in the performance of 5.5 lakh MSMEs and is expected to mobilise financing of USD 15.5 billion, as part of the government's USD 3.4 billion MSME Competitiveness - A Post-COVID Resilience and Recovery Programme (MCRRP).
• The RAMP program will provide better access to finance and working capital for MSMEs by strengthening the receivable financing markets.
• It will also scale up online dispute resolution mechanisms to address the problem of delayed payments.
• The USD 500 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a maturity of 18.5 years including a 5.5-year grace period.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in October 2020 had mandated all life insurers to launch the Saral Jeevan Bima plans from 1st January 2021. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • IRDAI is an autonomous body under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.
• Saral Jeevan Bima is a regulator-mandated standard term life insurance plan offering basic protection to people who are self-employed or belong to a lower income category. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It is a pure term life insurance product that can be purchased by people in the age group of 18 to 65 years and will have a policy term of 5 to 40 years.
• It provides for payment of sum assured in lump sum to the nominee in case of the life assured’s unfortunate death during the policy term.
• There are no exclusions, other than suicides. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• Recently, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) through its Operation Pangea XIV targeted the sale of fake medicines and products online.
  • More than 1.10 lakh web links, including websites and online marketplaces, were taken down in the operation.
• Operation Pangea, is a well-established international effort of Interpol to disrupt the online sale of counterfeit and illicit health products. Just as importantly, Pangea works to raise awareness of the risks associated with buying medicines from unregulated websites.
• The first Operation Pangea was conducted in 2008.
• The current operation (14^th) involved the police, customs and health regulatory authorities of 92 countries. It was coordinated by Interpol. Indian agencies also participated in the operation.
• Hence, option D is correct.

Greater one-horned rhinoceros is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List

Pobitora is known for the highest density of Indian one-horned rhinos in the world along with Kaziranga National Park, the shelter for two thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinos.

8 Degree Channel (8 degrees north latitude) separates islands of Minicoy and Maldives.

The Centre has decided to give about ₹100 each to children studying in Class 1 to Class 8 in government schools, who are beneficiaries of the Mid Day Meal scheme.

The total Central allocation for the Mid Day Meal scheme in 2021-22 is ₹11,500 crore. It’s largest component is cooking costs, which cover the prices of ingredients such as pulses, vegetables, cooking oil, salt, and condiments.

The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013.

Under the MDM scheme, both the Centre and State government share the cooking cost for daily meals in the ratio of 60:40 for non-North eastern states and UTs with legislatures except Jammu and Kashmir and in the ratio of 90:10 for all others.