Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 22, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Kerala High Court asked organisations associated with the film industry to take steps to constitute a joint committee to deal with cases of sexual harassment of women, in line with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013.

• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed in 2013.
• It defined sexual harassment, lay down the procedures for a complaint and inquiry, and the action to be taken. It broadened the Vishaka guidelines, laid down by the Supreme Court in a judgment in 1997.
• The 2013 Act mandated that every employer must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at each office or branch with 10 or more employees.
• It lay down procedures and defined various aspects of sexual harassment, including the aggrieved victim, who could be a woman “of any age whether employed or not”, who “alleges to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassment”.
• This meant that the rights of all women working or visiting any workplace, in any capacity, were protected under the Act.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has resumed ratings for individual news channels, with the release of data for Week 10 of 2022.

• The BARC India had temporarily suspended the viewership ratings of news channels in October 2020, amid the allegations of a Television Rating Point (TRP) scam.
• Following an industry-wide consultative process, the BARC Team, along with BARC TechComm, developed the Augmented Data Reporting Standards for News and Special Interest genres, aligned with the industry’s needs.
• As per revised approved standards, audience estimates will only be released based on a four-week rolling average, every week.

Hence both statements are correct.

Members of the armed forces, including the Air Force, the Navy and the Army, can approach the High Courts to challenge the final decisions of the Armed Forces Tribunals (AFT) involving issues of pay, pension, promotion and discipline, the Delhi High Court has held.

• The Delhi HC’s ruling is likely to provide reprieve to a large section appellants whose only remedy until now was to petition the Supreme Court against the final order passed by an AFT.
• Armed Forces Tribunal is a military tribunal in India established under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.
• The Principal Bench is located at Delhi with ten other benches across the country.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN), directed Russia to immediately suspend all military operations in Ukraine.

• Article 36(1) of the Statute of the ICJ provides that the ICJ shall have jurisdiction in all matters relating to the UN Charter, or other treaties or conventions in force.
• The Statute of the International Court of Justice, under Article 41 empowers the ICJ to indicate provisional measures in any case before it in order to preserve the rights of the parties involved.
• When the ICJ indicates such provisional measures, the parties to the dispute and the UN Security Council have to be notified.
• In the LaGrand (2001) case between Germany and the U.S., the ICJ made it clear that provisional measures are binding in character and create international legal obligations.
• Further, provisional measures may be indicated by the ICJ either on the request of a state party or proprio motu i.e., on its own motion.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) may allow a price hike of over 10% in the drugs and devices listed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM).
• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) was constituted by the Government of India in 1997 as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers as an independent Regulator for pricing of drugs and to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• It was made to fix/revise prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce price and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995-2013 (DPCO). Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • A bulk drug — also called Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) — is the chemical molecule in a medicine that lends the product the claimed therapeutic effect.

• Eighth Schedule of the Constitution lists the official languages of the republic of India. Part XVII of the Indian constitution deals with the official languages in Articles 343 to 351. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The Constitutional provisions related to the Eighth Schedule are:
  • Article 344: Article 344(1) provides for the constitution of a Commission by the President on expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution.
  • Article 351: It provides for the spread of the Hindi language to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India.
• However, It can be noted that there is no fixed criteria for any language to be considered for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• Official Languages:
  • The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of the following 22 languages:
    • Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi,Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri.
  • Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution.
  • Sindhi language was added by the 21^st Amendment Act of 1967.
  • Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were included by the 71^st Amendment Act of 1992. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added by the 92^nd Amendment Act of 2003 which came into force in 2004.

• Russia is the world's largest exporter of crude and oil products, having shipped 7.8 mb/d in December 2021, and the second largest supplier of crude to the world with only Saudi Arabia exporting more crude than it. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• India is the world's third-largest oil consumer at 5.5 million barrels a day, behind the US and China. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • The oil demand is growing at 3-4% a year in the country.
  • By this estimate, in a decade, India could be consuming about 7 million barrels a day.
  • India imports 85% of its oil from about 40 countries, the bulk coming from the Middle East and the US.
  • From Russia, India imports 2% of its supplies, including oil which it converts to petroleum products after refining. So, it’s not Russian oil but oil in general and its rising prices that have India worried.
• Brent crude oil originates from oil fields in the North Sea between the Shetland Islands and Norway, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is sourced from US oil fields, primarily in Texas, Louisiana, and North Dakota. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Consumers may have to pay more for medicines and medical devices if the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) allows a price hike of over 10% in the drugs and devices listed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM).

• The escalation which is expected to have an impact on nearly 800 drugs and devices is propelled by the rise in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI).
• Lobby groups that represent domestic pharmaceutical companies have been engaging with the Central Government to ask it to extend the 10% annual hike to scheduled formulations under price control.

How does the pricing mechanism work?

• All medicines under the NLEM are under price regulation.
• As per the Drugs (Prices) Control Order 2013, scheduled drugs, about 15% of the pharma market, are allowed an increase by the government as per the WPI while the rest 85% are allowed an automatic increase of 10% every year.
• The pharma lobby is now asking for at least a 10% increase for scheduled drugs too than going by the WPI.
• The NPPA was set up in 1997 to fix/revise prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce price and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995-2013.

Hence both statements are correct.

A recent study by scientists has suggested a significant decline in the habitat of the golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), an endangered primate species distributed in the trans-boundary region of Bhutan and India.

• A recent paper titled “Future simulated landscape predicts habitat loss for the golden langur: a range-level analysis for an endangered primate” throws light on whether the habitat of the endangered primate is protected or not. The paper has been published by scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
• Golden langurs are easily recognised by the colour of their fur, and are distributed in the forested habitats of Tsirang, Sarpang, Zhemgang and Trongsa districts of Bhutan.
• In India, fragmented and isolated populations of the species are distributed in Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri and Bongaigaon districts of Assam.
• The results indicate that out of the total range extent (66,320 square km), only 12,265 square km (18.49%) is suitable for the species at present, which will further be reduced to 8,884 square km by the year 2031, indicating major range contraction.
• Conservation Status: In 2003, they were considered endangered by the IUCN Red List, and listed as Appendix I on the CITES website.
• Chakrashila is India’s first wildlife sanctuary with golden langur as the primary species. Chakrashila has about 600 golden langurs whose population is scattered across western Assam and the foothills of Bhutan.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the progress of rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants, including Kashmiri Pandits, during a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha in Jammu.

• According to the Home Ministry, only 17% of the proposed accommodation for Kashmiri Pandits has been completed in the past seven years.
• The Union government, under the Prime Minister’s Development Package announced in 2015, had approved the creation of 3,000 government jobs for Kashmiri migrants in the erstwhile State of J&K. So far, 1,739 migrants have been appointed and 1,098 others selected for the jobs.
• A similar package for migrants was announced by the Manmohan Singh government in 2008 under which 2,905 jobs had been filled out of the 3,000 jobs approved.
• In 2015, as many as 6,000 transit accommodation units were announced for the members who were to be provided jobs by the J&K administration at a cost of ₹920 crore. According to the Ministry data, till February 2022, construction of only 1,025 units had been partially or fully completed while work at more than 50% units was yet to start.

Background

• A large number of Pandits were forced to leave the Kashmir Valley from 1990 onwards due to rising terrorist attacks and calls for violence against the community.
• According to the Home Ministry, several Kashmiri migrants reside at existing transit accommodation at Vessu (Kulgam), Mattan (Anantnag), Hawl (Pulwama), Natnusa (Kupwara), Sheikhpora(Budgam) and Veerwan (Baramulla) in the Kashmir Valley other than the camps in Jammu.
• According to a 2020 parliamentary panel report, there are 64,827 registered migrant families in J&K — 60,489 Hindu families, 2,609 Muslim families and 1,729 Sikh families.
• Of the 64,827 families, 43,494 are registered in Jammu, 19,338 in Delhi and 1,995 families are settled in other States and Union Territories. Of the 43,494 migrant families, 5,248 are living in migrant camps.

Hence both statements are correct.