Daily Current Affairs MCQ- May 13, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways has approved a 780 Crore rupees project for upgradation of Kargil Zanskar road.

• The 2 lane Kargil Zanskar NH 301 road is sanctioned under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.
• Zanskar- Kargil road was declared National Highway in 2017 by the Centre.
• This road from Zanskar valley, also connects Suru valley, Sankoo valley of Kargil Ladakh with the Highway.
• The road will be a key for economic development of the remote region of Ladakh.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Haryana has amended several provisions under its Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Legislative Assembly of the state.

• Several new provisions have also been added in order to maintain the decorum of the House and to ensure that prompt action is taken on recommendations made by the committees constituted by the Speaker.
• In Rule 76, a new provision has been added, according to which during every sitting of the House, presence of at least two ministers is a must, which was not maintained at times during discussion on certain Calling Attention Motions or other Business of the House.
• To maintain decorum of the House, another new provision has been added, according to which the members “shall not tear off documents in the House in protest”.
• The new Sub-Rule 46(11) reads: “The question shall not contain more than 150 words in any case either typed or handwritten on one side of the page.” Officials say it has been done to have better clarity for the Ministers to give a specific reply to the query raised by the Member.
• As per the new definition, Leader of Opposition means Leader of a Legislative Party having the largest number of members other than the party/parties that has formed the government and having the strength at least equal to the strength of the quorum of the House

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Education Minister launched the “MyNEP2020” Platform of NCTE Web Portal.

• The platform seeks to invite suggestions from the stakeholders for preparing draft for development of National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) and National Mission for Mentoring Program membership (NMM).
• The “MyNEP2020” platform will be operational from 1st April 2021 to 15th May 2021.
• For preparing the documents on above two major recommendations of NEP 2020, NCTE will work in close consultation with individuals/organizations.
• Expert committee will extensively review the inputs collected during the consultation period and will finally formulate the Drafts for public review. Comments by the reviewers from the stakeholders will then be used to prepare a final Draft for notification.
• National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) is a statutory body of Indian government set up under the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 in 1995 to formally oversee standards, procedures and processes in the Indian education system.

Hence both statements are correct.

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat operationalised and dedicated to the Armed forces the 3rd Joint Logistics Node (JLN) in Mumbai.

• These JLNs will provide integrated logistics cover to the Armed Forces for their small arms ammunition, rations, fuel, general stores, civil hired transport, aviation clothing, spares and also engineering support in an effort to synergise their operational efforts.
• Establishment and operationalisation of JLNs is a very important first step in the direction of logistics integration of our three Services. The JLN would enhance joint inter-operability between the Services.
• The Joint Operations Division (JOD) under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (Hq IDS) enabled establishment of the JLNs
• Government Sanction Letter for establishment of JLNs in Mumbai, Guwahati and Port Blair was signed on October 12, 2020.
• The JLNs in Guwahati and Tri-Services, Andaman and Nicobar Command, Port Blair were operationalised on January 01, 2021.

Hence both statements are correct.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO and DMSRDE Kanpur for developing a Light Weight Bullet Proof Jacket.

• Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur, a DRDO laboratory has developed a Light Weight Bullet Proof Jacket weighing 9 kg meeting the qualitative requirements of Indian Army.
• The Front Hard Armour Panel jacket was tested successfully at TBRL Chandigarh and met relevant BIS standards.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has bowed to Sree Sree Sree Sivakumara Swamigalu on his Jayanti. Shivakumara Swamigalu (1907 – 2019) was an Indian spiritual leader. He was a Lingayat religious figure and head of the Siddaganga Matha in Karnataka. He was described as the most esteemed adherent of Lingayatism.

• Educationist: He founded the Sri Siddaganga Education Society. He founded over 100 institutions for education and training, that range from nursery to colleges for engineering, science, arts and management as well as vocational training.
• Awards and Honours:
  • in 2007, the Government of Karnataka awarded him the Karnataka Ratna award, the highest civilian award of the state.
  • In 2015 the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan.
  • He was also referred to as Nadedaaduva Devaru (walking God) in the state of Karnataka.
• The Lingayats is a numerically and politically strong community of Karnataka.
• They are followers of Basaveshwara, a 12^th century Kannada philosopher during the reign of the Kalachuri-dynasty king Bijjala I in Karnataka who founded the Lingayats sect.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Rajinikanth after he has been conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2019.

• Dadasaheb Phalke award is India's highest award in cinema.
• It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting).
• The award prize consists of a golden lotus, a cash prize of ₹10 lakh and a shawl.
• The award is given to people for their "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema".
• It was first presented in 1969. The first recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani, “the first lady of Indian cinema.”
• Dadasaheb Phalke (1870–1944), was an Indian film-maker who directed India's first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913).
• He is regarded as "the father of Indian cinema."

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

China in February 2021 launched the latest round of pilot trials of its new digital currency, with reported plans of a major roll-out by the end of the year and ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February 2022.

• Officially titled the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP), the digital RMB (or Renminbi, China’s currency) is, as its name suggests, a digital version of China’s currency.
• It can be downloaded and exchanged via an application authorised by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank.
• China is among a small group of countries that have begun pilot trials; others include Sweden, South Korea and Thailand.
• Unlike an e-wallet such as Paytm in India, or Alipay or WeChat Pay, which are the two dominant apps in China, the Digital RMB does not involve a third party. For users, the experience may broadly feel the same.
• But from a “legal perspective”, the digital currency is “very, very different”. This is legal tender guaranteed by the central bank, not a payment guaranteed by a third-party operator. There is no third-party transaction, and hence, no transaction fee.
• Unlike e-wallets, the digital currency does not require Internet connectivity. The payment is made through Near-field Communication (NFC) technology.
• Also, unlike non-bank payment platforms that require users to link bank accounts, this can be opened with a personal identification number
• While several countries have been experimenting with digital currencies, China’s recent trials in several cities have placed it ahead of the curve.
• The central bank-issued digital RMB will turn the logic of decentralised cryptocurrencies on its head, without the privacy and anonymity they offer, by giving regulators complete control over transactions. There are global motivations as well.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

USA President Joe Biden has allowed a Trump-era H-1B visa rule to expire.

• Last June, the administration of former President Donald Trump, a Republican, halted the issuance of non-immigrant work visas of several types, including the skilled worker visa, or H-1B.
• At the time, the White House had stated that the aim of the policy was to stop foreign workers from cornering American jobs during the economic distress and consequent shortage of economic opportunities brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
• While the original order was valid until December 31, 2020, it was extended by the Trump administration to be valid until March 31, 2021.
• Now, the 46th and current U.S. President, Democrat Joe Biden, has allowed the ban on H-1B visa issuance to expire, potentially bringing relief to a large number of Indian nationals, especially IT workers who are prospective applicants for the visa.
• Until now, the U.S. issued 85,000 H-1B visas annually, of which 20,000 went to graduate students and 65,000 to private sector applicants, and Indian nationals would garner approximately 70% of these.

Hence both statements are correct.

On the last day of the financial year 2020-21, the Finance Ministry announced that the inflation target for the five years between April 2021 and March 2026 will remain unchanged at 4%, with an upper tolerance level of 6% and a lower tolerance level of 2%.

• This is the retail inflation target that will drive the country’s monetary policy framework and influence its decision to raise, hold or lower interest rates.
• India had switched to an inflation target-based monetary policy framework in 2015, with the 4% target kicking in from 2016-17.
• Many developed countries had adopted an inflation-rate focus as an anchor for policy formulation for interest rates rather than past fixations with metrics like the currency exchange rate or controlling money supply growth. Emerging economies have also been gradually adopting this approach.
• In adopting a target for a period of five years, the central bank has the visibility and the time to smoothly alter and adjust its policies in order to attain the targeted inflation levels over the medium term, rather than seek to achieve it every month.

Hence both statements are correct.