Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 11, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted a $ 5 billion dollar-rupee swap auction as part of its liquidity management initiative, leading to infusion of dollars and sucking out of the rupee from the financial system.

• The RBI sold $5.135 billion to banks on March 8 and simultaneously agreed to buy back the dollars at the end of the swap settlement period.
• When the central bank sells dollars, it sucks out an equivalent amount in rupees, thus reducing the rupee liquidity in the system. Dollar inflow into the market will strengthen the rupee which has already hit the 77 level against the US dollar.
• The swap auction can be done in the reverse way also when there is shortage of liquidity in the system. The RBI then buys dollars from the market and releases an equivalent amount in the rupees.

Comment:

• The central bank’s move will reduce the pressure on inflation and strengthen the rupee.
• With the rupee under pressure and inflation posing a big risk to the economy, the central bank is expected to come out with more such measures to rein in inflation and prevent a big slide in the rupee.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

On March 8, the Reserve Bank of India launched a new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments solution for feature phone users dubbed ‘UPI123Pay’.

• The new UPI-based service is designed to bring the digital payments platform closer to a significant number of feature phone mobile subscribers in the country, which is estimated to be more than 40 crore.
• The new UPI payments system offers users four options to make payments without internet connectivity:
  • Interactive Voice Response (IVR),
  • app-based functionality,
  • missed call facility and
  • proximity sound-based payments.
• Using the IVR option, users would be required to initiate a secured call from their feature phones to a predetermined IVR number and complete UPI on-boarding formalities to be able to start making financial transactions like money transfer, mobile recharge, EMI repayment, balance check, among others.
• The missed call facility will allow users to access their bank account and perform routine transactions such as receiving, transferring funds, regular purchases, bill payments, etc., by giving a missed call on the number displayed at the merchant outlet. The customer will receive an incoming call to authenticate the transaction by entering UPI PIN.
• They could also install an app on their feature phone through which several UPI functions, available on smartphones, will be available on their feature phone, except scan and pay feature which is currently not available.
• Finally, they could utilise the proximity sound-based payments option, which uses sound waves to enable contactless, offline, and proximity data communication on any device.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC) as a wholly owned Government of India company with an initial authorized share capital of Rs 5000 crore and paid-up share capital of Rs 150 crore.

• Department of Public Enterprise, Ministry of Finance, will set up the company and act as its administrative ministry.
• NLMC will undertake monetization of surplus land and building assets of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and other Government agencies.
• The proposal is in pursuance of the Budget Announcement for 2021-22.
• With monetization of non-core assets, Government would be able to generate substantial revenues by monetizing unused and under-used assets.
• At present, CPSEs hold considerable surplus, unused and under used non-core assets in the nature of land and buildings. For CPSEs undergoing strategic disinvestment or closure, monetization of these surplus land and non-core assets is important to unlock their value.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Cabinet was apprised of a MoU signed between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. (DFG), Germany in December 2021 and in accordance with Rule 7(d)(i) of the Second Schedule of Government of India (Transaction of Business) rules 1961.

• Objectives of the MoU is Cooperation in the field of medical sciences/health research in areas including Toxicology, Neglected (Tropical) disease, rare diseases and any other areas of mutual interest.
• The cooperation in scientific research and technological development includes the joint funding of scientific research projects as well as the exchange of researchers, funding of joint seminars, symposia and workshops which would be of high scientific standard and beneficial to the advancement of science, significant from a scientific point of view.

Hence both statements are correct.

• Lunar Craters are bowl-shaped landforms created by Volcanism and Cratering, about 4.5 billion years ago, shortly after Earth was formed. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • There are hundreds of thousands of moon craters ranging from less than a mile across to giant basins.
  • The largest crater on the Moon is called South Pole-Aitken Basin. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Further, throughout its existence, the Moon has been bombarded by comets and asteroid chunks, and those created the many impact craters we see today.
  • Moon’s lack of water, atmosphere, and tectonic plates, there is little erosion, and craters are found that exceed two billion years in age.
  • Mitra Crater on Moon is named after Indian radio physicist Sisir Kumar Mitra.
• Difference between Craters on the Moon and Earth:
  • Both the earth and the moon have been hit by multiple objects like asteroids throughout their existence, but craters on the moon are of a more permanent nature than those on earth.
    • This is because of processes like erosion, tectonics, and volcanism.
  • An absence of atmosphere means there is no wind system and no weather on the moon, and hence no cause for erosion of existing craters.
  • The absence of tectonics prevents the moon’s surface from forming new rocks or causing a shift in the existing surface patterns, unlike that on earth.
  • Lastly, the absence of volcanism (in recent history) makes it impossible for craters to be covered. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• Radioactivity is the phenomenon of spontaneous emission of particles or waves from the unstable nuclei of some elements.
• There are three types of radioactive emissions: Alpha, Beta and Gamma.
  • Alpha particles are positively charged He (Helium) atoms, beta particles are negatively charged electrons and gamma rays are neutral electromagnetic radiations. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Radioactive elements are naturally found in the earth’s crust. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • Uranium, thorium and actinium are three NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials) series that contaminate water resources.
• Radioactivity is measured in Becquerel (SI unit) or in Curie. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• The Savannah ecosystem is a tropical grassland with warm temperatures year-round and with its highest seasonal rainfall in the summer.
• The savanna is characterized by grasses and small or dispersed trees that do not form a closed canopy, allowing sunlight to reach the ground.
• The largest areas of savanna are found in Africa, South America, Australia, India, the Myanmar (Burma)–Thailand region in Asia, and Madagascar.
• Hence, option C is correct.

The current OPEC members are the following: Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia (the de facto leader), the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Ecuador, Indonesia and Qatar are former members.

In a first, Union Law Secretary Anoop Kumar Mendiratta was elevated as a judge of the Delhi High Court. His name was recently recommended by the Supreme Court collegium.

The President can appoint duly qualified persons as additional judges of a high court for a temporary period when: there is a temporary increase in the business of the high court; or there are arrears of work in the high court.

The Cabinet approved changes to India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to allow global investors to participate in the initial public offering of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) shares expected to be launched soon.

As per the present FDI policy, the FDI ceiling for public sector banks is 20% on government approval route.

A Red Herring Prospectus, or offer document, is filed by a company to SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) when it plans to raise money from the public by selling shares of the company to investors. The document is very useful to investors because it provides detailed information about the company’s business operations, financials, promoters and the company’s objective for raising funds by filing an IPOs.