Daily Current Affairs MCQ - November 30, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Indian Bio-Jet Fuel Technology Receives Formal Military Certification.

• CSIR-IIP Dehradun’s home-grown technology to produce bio-jet fuel has been formally approved for use on military aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• The technology, developed by the Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, has undergone evaluation tests and trials over the last three years.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Indian-origin technology executive Parag Agrawal was appointed the new chief executive officer of Twitter after the social media giant’s co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down.

• Parag, aged 45, is an alumnus of IIT Mumbai. He did his bachelors in engineering (BS) from here. Then he moved to the US for further studies, with his doctorate coming from Stanford University.
• Parag Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 and has served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) since October 2017.
• Parag, who until now was Twitter's CTO, is assuming the role as the company CEO immediately.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a share of total health expenditure and foreign aid for health has both come down as per the findings of the National Health Accounts (NHA) estimates for India for 2017-18 released by Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

• As a share of total health expenditure, the OOPE has come down to 48.8% in 2017-18 from 64.2% in 2013-14. Even in the case of per capita OOPE, there has been a decline from ₹2,336 to ₹2,097 between 2013-14 and 2017-18.
• One of the factors attributing to this decline is the increase in utilisation and reduction in cost of services in Government health facilities. If we compare NHA 2014-15 and 2017-18, there has been a decline in OOPE for Government hospitals to the tune of 50%.
• The NHA estimates for 2017-18 clearly showed that there had been an increase in the share of Government health expenditure in the total GDP of the country.
• It has increased from 1.15% in 2013-14 to 1.35% in 2017-18. Additionally, the share of Government Health Expenditure in total health expenditure has also increased over time.
• In 2017-18, the share of Government expenditure was 40.8%, which is much higher than 28.6% in 2013-14.
• The report further indicates that in per capita terms, the Government health expenditure has increased from ₹1,042 to ₹1,753 between 2013-14 to 2017-18.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Delhi government recently defended its Doorstep Delivery of Ration Scheme before the Delhi High Court, stating that it is a complete misconception that fair price shops cease to exist once the scheme is implemented. The government contended further that it is an optional scheme and beneficiaries can opt-out anytime and that not a single beneficiary has questioned the mode and manner of implementation of the scheme.

The Court emphasised that the fair price shops (FPS) should not be ousted from the system with the implementation of the scheme. The bench further observed, as the Centre submitted, that the FPS is an integral part of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), and therefore, cannot be done away.

Hence both statements are correct.

Intellectual Property Rights Policy which is in compliance with WTO’s (World Trade Organisation) agreement on TRIPS (Trade Related aspects of IPRs), aims to sustain entrepreneurship.

As per the WTO norms, a compulsory licensing (CL) can be invoked by a government allowing a company to produce a patented product without the consent of the patent owner in public interest. Under the Indian Patents Act, a CL can be issued for a drug if the medicine is deemed unaffordable, among other conditions, and the government grants permission to qualified generic drug makers to manufacture it.

National Highways constituted 2.7% of India’s total road network.

Rural roads form a substantial portion of the country’s road network, forming 72.97% of the total of roads, as of March 2020.

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has notified constitution of the National Road Safety Board. The Board shall be responsible for promoting road safety, innovation and adoption of new technology and for regulating traffic and motor vehicles.

The Ministry of Textiles has issued the Notification for setting up of 7 PM MITRA Parks as announced in Union Budget for 2021-22.

The scheme is to develop integrated large scale and modern industrial infrastructure facility for entire value-chain of the textile industry. 

The 7 PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks will be setup at Greenfield / Brownfield sites located in different willing States.

PM MITRA park will be developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle which will be owned by State Government and Government of India in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode. 

PESA empowers gram sabhas to play a key role in approving development plans and controlling all social sectors. This includes the processes and personnel who implement policies, exercising control over minor (non-timber) forest resources, minor water bodies and minor minerals, managing local markets, preventing land alienation and regulating intoxicants among other things.

The gram sabha would have the powers to monitor and prohibit the manufacturing, transport, sale and consumption of intoxicants within their village limits.

The Lok Sabha Monday passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 without any discussion. The Bill was introduced in the house by Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar.

The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 is aimed at repealing the three farm laws – Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 – and amending the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The government can repeal the laws in two ways -- it can either bring a Bill to repeal the three laws or promulgate an ordinance that will have to be subsequently replaced with a Bill within six months.

The government can repeal the three laws through a single repealing bill. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

Article 245 of the Constitution which gives Parliament the power to make laws also gives the legislative body the power to repeal them through the Repealing and Amending Act. Hence statement 2 is correct.

The Act was first passed in 1950 when 72 Acts were repealed. The last time the Repealing and Amending provision was invoked was in 2019 when the Union government sought to repeal 58 obsolete laws and make minor amendments to the Income Tax Act, 1961 and The Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

In the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Prahlad Joshi sought the approval of the House for suspending 12 Rajya Sabha MPs for the remainder of the session.

The presiding officer of each House can direct an MP to withdraw from the legislative chamber for grossly disorderly conduct. The MP then has to remain absent from the proceedings of the House for the remainder of the day. The presiding officers can also “name” an MP for “persistently and wilfully obstructing the business” of the House. In such a case, usually, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister moves a motion for suspending the offending MP from the service of the House. The suspension can last until the end of the session. Hence statement 1 is correct.

In 2001, the Lok Sabha rule was amended to give the Speaker one additional power. A new rule, 374A, empowers the Speaker to automatically suspend an MP for a maximum of five days for disrupting the business of the House. Hence statement 2 is correct.

In 2015, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan used this rule for suspending 25 Congress MPs.

The first instance occurred in 1963. A few Lok Sabha MPs first interrupted President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan and then walked out while he was delivering the joint address to both Houses. Lok Sabha ended in reprimanding these MPs. In 1989, 63 MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha on the discussion of the Thakar Commission report. More recently in 2010, 7 MPs were suspended from Rajya Sabha for snatching the women’s reservation bill from the minister. Since then, MPs have raised slogans, used pepper spray in the House and displayed placards. Hence statement 3 is not correct.