Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 21, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Government has given approval to drug firms including Aurobindo Pharma and Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals under the PLI scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical bulk drugs.

• The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme aims at promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical key starting materials (KSMs)/drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the country.
• This will be achieved by setting up greenfield plants with minimum domestic value addition in four different target segments with a total outlay of Rs 6,940 crore for the period 2020-21 to 2029-30.
• The scheme was launched by Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
• The Target Segment-I includes 4 eligible products, viz., Penicillin G; 7-ACA; Erythromycin Thiocyanate (TIOC) & Clavulanic Acid, in which the country is presently fully import dependent. These were considered on priority as per the decided evaluation and selection criteria.
• The setting up of plants under the scheme will lead to total committed investment of Rs 3,761 crore by the companies and employment generation for around 3,825 people.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs launched “ShramShakti”, a National Migration Support Portal at a programme held at Panjim, Goa.

• It would effectively help in the smooth formulation of state and national level programs for migrant workers.
• The tribal migration repository, ShramShakti would be able to successful able to address the data gap and empower migrant workers who generally migrate in search of employment and income generation.
• The various data that will be recorded via Shram Shakti include demographic profile, livelihood options, skill mapping and migration pattern.
• He also launched a tribal migration cell, a tribal museum at Goa and “ShramSaathi”, a training manual for migrant workers.
• With this, Goa is going to be first destination state of India to set up dedicated migration cell to address diverse issues of migrant workers.

Hence both statements are correct.

A tripartite agreement was signed between Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL), Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals Limited (RSMML) and the Department of Mines & Geology (DMG), Govt. of Rajasthan for taking up feasibility studies of Solution Mining of Potash in the state of Rajasthan.

• Rajasthan has huge Potash and Halite resources spread across 50,000 sq. kms in the Nagaur – Ganganagar basin in the northwest.
• Bedded Salt formations are strategically useful for underground oil storage, repositories for hydrogen, ammonia and helium gas, storage of compresses gas and nuclear waste. Potash & Sodium Chloride from the Bedded Salt are extensively used in the Fertiliser Industry and the Chemical Industry respectively.
• Paving the way for the 1st Solution Mining project in the country, this project will generate employment.
• Potash includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.
• The name derives from pot ash, which refers to plant ashes or wood ash soaked in water in a pot, which was the primary means of manufacturing the product before the Industrial Era.
• Potash is produced worldwide mostly for use in fertilizer.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas has begun the process of setting up a Decision Support System (DSS) having a web, GIS and multi-model based operational and planning decision support tool.

• This tool will help immensely in capturing the static and dynamic features of the emissions from various sources.
• The sources covered will include industries, transport, power plants, residential, DG sets, road dust, agricultural burning, refuse burning, construction dust, ammonia, volatile organic compounds, landfill etc.
• It will have an integrated framework to handle both primary and secondary pollutants using chemical transport model.
• The system will also be able to handle the source specific interventions with the framework to estimate benefits of interventions and will focus on presenting the best results in a comprehensive user friendly and simple format for different users.

Hence both statements are correct.

DRDO successfully conducted captive and release trial of indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from Hawk-I of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) off the Odisha coast.

• The smart weapon was successfully test fired from Indian Hawk-Mk132 of HAL. This was the 9th successful mission of SAAW conducted by DRDO till now.
• SAAW is indigenously designed and developed by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI) Hyderabad.
• This is 125 Kg class smart weapon, capable of engaging ground enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks, and runways etc. up to a range of 100 kms. The high precision guided bomb is light weight as compared to weapon system of the same class.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Supreme Court recently upheld the validity of Section 32 A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

• The Supreme Court held that the successful bidders for a corporate debtor under the IBC would be immune from any investigations being conducted either by any investigating agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or other statutory bodies such as SEBI.
• While upholding the validity of Section 32A of IBC, the court said it was important for the IBC to attract bidders who would offer reasonable and fair value for the corporate debtor to ensure the timely completion of corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).
• The protection to successful bidders and the assets of a corporate debtor are provided by the rules under Section 32A of the IBC.
• The apex court has, however, also said that such immunity would be applicable only if there is an approved resolution plan, and a change in the management control of the corporate debtor.
• Since the IBC came into being in 2016, the implementation of resolution plan of several big ticket cases has been delayed because of challenges mounted by its own agencies and regulators.
• With the Supreme Court upholding the validity of Section 32 A, these cases are expected to be completed soon.
• This will give confidence to other bidders to proceed with confidence while bidding on such disputed companies and their assets.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in India will establish a Quantum Computing Applications Lab in the country, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), to accelerate quantum computing-led research and development and enable new scientific discoveries.

• The Lab will provide quantum computing as a service to government ministries and departments, researchers, scientists, academia, and developers, to enable advances in areas such as manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, and aerospace engineering.
• AWS will provide hosting with technical and programmatic support for the Lab.
• The lab is World’s first quantum computing applications lab on AWS to support a national government’s mission to drive innovation.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon providing on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis.

Hence both statements are correct.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched a Regulatory Compliance Portal to minimize Regulatory Compliance Burden for Businesses and Citizens.

• The objective of this portal launched on 1^st January 2021 is to act as a bridge between citizens, industries and the Government in order to minimize burdensome compliances.
• It will also act as a first-of-its-kind central online repository of all Central and State-level compliances.
• All Central Ministries/Departments and States/UTs would examine laws/regulations/rules under their purview and implement an Action Plan to rationalize and simplify all the processes and remove burdensome compliances. These details would be captured and tracked on the Regulatory Compliance Portal.
• Industry stakeholders from Trade bodies such as CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM would also be able to submit compliances and proposed recommendations. This will be assessed by concerned Government authorities and suitable action would be undertaken to minimize the regulatory compliance burden.

Hence both statements are correct.

India Science, Nation’s Science & Technology OTT (Over-the-top) channel has completed its second year of existence successfully on January 15th, 2021.

• Managed by Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organization of the Department of Science & Technology, this channel was formally launched on January 15, 2019.
• With an aim to create scientific awareness & temper amongst the citizens of the country through the latest technology prevalent today like OTT, it was important for Vigyan Prasar to keep pace with it.
• On mobile phones, INDIASCIENCE MobileApp is downloadable from Google PlayStore and Apple App Store. On RelianceJio, it is available through JioTV, JioSTB, and JioChat. It is also available through YouTube.
• With the impending launch of the India Science Jio Phone App, it expects a windfall gains in both reach and interactivity in the coming months.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

A large scale Joint Military exercise ‘Exercise Kavach’ involving assets of Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard is being conducted in the coming week under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC).

• The exercise involves synergised application of maritime surveillance assets, coordinated air and maritime strikes, air defence, submarine and landing operations.
• Concurrently Joint Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) exercise involving various technical, electronic and human intelligence from three services will be conducted.
• The tri-services exercise aims to fine tune joint war-fighting capabilities and SOPs towards enhancing operational synergy.
• The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is the only Joint Forces Command of the country.

Hence both statements are correct.