Daily Current Affairs MCQ - November 25, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated the 5th World Congress on Disaster Management on November 24, 2021.

• The 5th World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM) is being organised in New Delhi between November 24-27, 2021 at the campus of IIT Delhi on the overarching theme of ‘Technology, Finance and Capacity for Building Resilience to Disasters in the context of COVID-19’.
• It is an initiative of Disaster Management Initiatives and Convergence Society (DMICS) having its headquarter in Hyderabad to bring researchers, policy makers and practitioners from around the world on the same platform to discuss various challenging issues of disaster risk management.
• The aim is to promote interaction of science, policy and practices to enhance understanding of risks and advance actions for reducing risks and building resilience to disasters.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of the umbrella scheme "Ocean Services, Modelling, Application, Resources and Technology (O-SMART)" of Ministry of Earth Sciences, for implementation during the period from 2021-26 at an overall cost of Rs. 2177 crore.

• The scheme encompasses seven sub-schemes namely Ocean Technology, Ocean Modelling and Advisory Services (OMAS), Ocean Observation Network (OON), Ocean Non-Living Resources, Marine Living Resources and Ecology (MLRE), Coastal Research and Operation and Maintenance of Research Vessels.
• These sub-schemes are being implemented by autonomous/attached institutes of the Ministry, viz. National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai; Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad; National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, Center for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi; and National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Chennai as well as involving other national institutes.
• The O-SMART scheme objectives are: providing forecast and services based on the continuous observation of our oceans, development of technologies and exploratory surveys for sustainable harnessing of our oceanic resources (both living and non-living) and promotion of front-ranking research in ocean sciences.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

The Union Cabinet has approved the formation of Company (Special Purpose Vehicle) to privatize the electricity distribution business in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (DNH&DD), sale of Equity Shares of the newly formed Company to highest bidder and formation of Trust(s) for serving employees’ liabilities.

• In May 2020, Government of India had announced ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’, to make India self-reliant through structural reforms.
• One of the key measures planned was to reform the power distribution and retail supply in UTs through privatization of the power distribution utilities, for leveraging private sector efficiency in electricity distribution.
• A single distribution company i.e. DNH-DD Power Distribution Corporation Limited would be incorporated as a wholly owned Government Company and Trust(s) shall be formed to manage the terminal benefits of the personnel transferred to the newly formed company.
• Transfer of assets, liabilities, personnel etc to the newly formed company will be done as per the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Electricity (Reorganization and Reforms) Transfer Scheme, 2020.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Vela, the fourth submarine of P75 of the Indian Navy, will be commissioned on November 25, 2021 by Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh at the naval dockyard.

• Vela is named after a decommissioned submarine Vela, which served the Navy from 1973 to 2010. The earlier Vela belonged to Foxtrot class submarine of Soviet origin.
• Vela will be commissioned into the Indian Navy’s western command, and will be based in Mumbai.
• This will be the second addition to the Indian Navy’s fleet of warships after INS Vishakapatnam’s commissioning on Sunday.

Project 75

• Conceptualised for the acquisition for 25 submarines at the time of the IK Gujral government, P 75 evolved into a 30-year plan for building submarines. In 2005, India and France signed a $ 3.75 billion contract for building six Scorpene class submarines. The executing company on the Indian side is Mazgaon Docks Ltd, and on the French side, it is DCNS, which is now called Naval Group.
• The project has been dogged by delays.
• As a result, the first of the six subs, INS Kalvari, was commissioned five years behind schedule, in 2017.
• After Kalvari, two more submarines under the contract, INS Khanderi and INS Karanj, were commissioned. Vela is the fourth, and sea trials are ongoing for Vagir, while the sixth, Vagsheer, is under construction.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, listed for introduction in Parliament’s Winter Session starting November 29, seeks to “create a facilitative framework for the creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India”.

• The Bill “seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses”.
• There is currently no regulation or ban on cryptocurrencies in India; however, national responses to defining and regulating virtual currencies vary widely in jurisdictions around the world.

How are cryptocurrencies regulated in countries?

• the regulatory and policy response can vary from complete openness of the kind seen in countries like El Salvador, which has approved bitcoin as legal tender, to a total clampdown like in China, which has imposed stringent regulations on both cryptocurrencies and service providers.
• The United States and European Union have been proactive in trying to pin down the regulatory mandate, while discussions continue.
• Countries such as India are somewhere in between — still in the process of figuring out the best way to regulate cryptos after some policy and regulatory experimentation.
• Hence both statements are correct.

• It pertains to the atmospheric science programs of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and addresses different aspects of weather and climate services. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The scheme will provide improved weather, climate and ocean forecast and services. This would include warnings for cyclones, storm surges, heat waves and thunderstorms. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The whole process from generation of forecast to its delivery requires considerable manpower at every stage, thereby generating employment opportunities for many people.

About Coffee

• Coffee was introduced to India during the late seventeenth century.
• The story goes that an Indian pilgrim to Mecca smuggled seven beans back to India from Yemen in 1670 (it was illegal to take coffee seeds out of Arabia at the time) and planted them in the Chandragiri hills of Karnataka.
• Coffee in India is grown under a canopy of thick natural shade in ecologically sensitive regions of the Western and Eastern Ghats.
• Climatic Conditions Required:
  • Coffee plants require a hot and humid climate with temperatures ranging between 15°C and 28 °C and rainfall from 150 to 250 cm.
  • Frost, snowfall, high temperature above 30°C and strong sun shine is not good for coffee crops and is generally grown under shady trees.
  • Dry weather is necessary at the time of ripening of the berries.
  • Stagnant water is harmful and the crop is grown on hill slopes at elevations from 600 to 1,600 metres above sea level.
  • Well drained, loams containing a good deal of humus and minerals like iron and calcium are ideal for coffee cultivation.
• Hence, option C is correct.

• Recently, the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has organized a workshop on the National Action Plan to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), while celebrating World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW - November 18-24).
  • During WAAW an International Colour Campaign, ‘Go Blue’ campaign, was launched by the AMR tripartite organisations (World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World organisation for Animal Health) to help spread awareness about AMR.
• AMR is the resistance acquired by any microorganism against antimicrobial drugs that are used to treat infections.
  • Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.
  • The WHO has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global health threats.
• Hence, option B is correct.

The 15th edition of the biennial trilateral coast guard exercise ‘Dosti’ involving India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka is underway in the Maldives.

• Indian Coast Guard vessels, the ICGS Vajra and ICGS Apoorva joined the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, SLCGS Suraksha for the five-day exercise that started on November 20 and will conclude on November 25, 2021.
• Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

The BJP, which has been in power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, excluding the 15-month-long rule of the Congress in 2018, has initiated a massive tribal outreach in Madhya Pradesh to woo the 1.53 crore tribal population of the state that account for 21.10 per cent of its 7.2 crore population.

• Madhya Pradesh has the largest tribal population of the country, with 46 recognised scheduled tribes, of which three are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) spread across the 52 districts in the state.
• The Bhil community comprises nearly 40 per cent of the total tribal population followed by the Gond tribe that constitute another 34 per cent of the 1.53 crore tribal population.
• A look at the state government’s recent announcements for tribal outreach.
• On September 18, the state government announced the implementation of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, which allows self-governance through traditional gram sabhas for people living in scheduled areas.
• This was followed by legalising mohua, a staple drink of the tribals, which will be sold as ‘heritage liquor’.
• University in Chhindwara to be named after Shankar Shah, Raghunath Shah. Shankar Shah (70), son of Sumer Shah, was the last ruler of Garha Kingdom under Gond rule.
• Railway station, bus stop to be renamed after Tantya Bhil. Tantya Bhill was born in Birda village of west Nimar in Madhya Pradesh in the 18th century and was only 25-year-old when the 1857 mutiny broke out.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.