Daily Current Affairs MCQ - May 5, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

• The World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) is an annual celebration of press freedom, observed on 3rd May every year. The main celebration is organized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • The theme for WPFD 2021 is “Information as a Public Good".
• The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991.
• The day also marks the 1991 Windhoek Declaration (adopted by UNESCO). It is considered a benchmark for ensuring press freedom around the world.
  • The Windhoek Declaration is a statement of press freedom principles put together by African newspaper journalists in 1991. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • The Declaration calls for a free, independent and pluralistic media and is based on a strong belief in the connection between a fully independent press and a successful participatory democracy sector.

• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) was launched by the government in 2015 for providing loans up to Rs. 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro-enterprises. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • MUDRA, stands for Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd., is a financial institution set up by the Government. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• MUDRA provides funding to the non-corporate small business sector through various last-mile financial institutions like Banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs).
  • It does not lend directly to micro-entrepreneurs/individuals. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
• MUDRA has created three products i.e. 'Shishu', 'Kishore' and ‘Tarun’ as per the stage of growth and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit.
  • Shishu: Covering loans up to Rs. 50,000.
  • Kishore: Covering loans above Rs. 50,000 and up to Rs. 5 lakh.
  • Tarun: Covering loans above Rs. 5 lakh and up to Rs. 10 lakh.
  • Loans under this scheme are collateral-free loans.

• It is a survey-based measure that asks the respondents about changes in their perception about key business variables as compared with the previous month. Hence, statements 1 is correct.
• The purpose of the PMI is to provide information about current and future business conditions to company decision makers, analysts, and investors.
• It is calculated separately for the manufacturing and services sectors and then a composite index is also constructed. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• PMI is compiled by IHS Markit for more than 40 economies worldwide.
  • IHS Markit is a global leader in information, analytics and solutions for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• The Asiatic Lion (also known as the Persian Lion or Indian Lion) is a member of the Panthera Leo Leo subspecies that is restricted to India. Asiatic lions are slightly smaller than African lions.
• Its previous habitats consisted of West Asia and the Middle East before it became extinct in these regions.
  • Asiatic lions were once distributed to the state of West Bengal in east and Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, in central India.
  • At present Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is the only abode of the Asiatic lion. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Asiatic Lions are listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • They are listed in Appendix I under CITES.
  • They are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

Every year, the World Hand Hygiene Day is observed on May 5.The day is organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness among people across the globe about the importance of hand hygiene in warding off many serious infections.

Washing coal increases the efficiency and quality of the dry fuel.

In theory, a process like coal washing was supposed to be good for everyone; thermal power plants would have fewer operational problems.

The combustion of washed coal would be better from an emissions and local air pollution perspective, and the unnecessary transport of large amounts of ash and non-combustible material would be minimized.

Greyhounds is a police special forces unit operating in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Greyhounds specialises in anti-insurgency operations against Naxalite.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.

This sub-regional organization came into being in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. It constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.

It is not an FTA. IT is a sector-driven organization focussing on sharing best practices and help each other in agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture etc. A BIMSTEC free trade agreement is under negotiation.

The World Happiness Report 2021 has been released by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Finland was once again crowned as the world’s happiest country.

India has been ranked 139 out of 149 countries in the list of UN World Happiness Report 2021. In 2019, India was ranked 140th.

The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 149 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.

The World Happiness Report 2021 focuses on the effects of Covid-19 and how people all over the world have fared.

The annual report ranks nations based on gross domestic product per person, healthy life expectancy and the opinions of residents.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 3 crore on ICICI Bank Ltd. for non-compliance with certain RBI directions in the matter of shifting of securities from one category to another.