Daily Current Affairs MCQ - October 1, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Union Minister for Labour and Employment launched DigiSaksham - a digital skills programme to enhance the employability of youth by imparting digital skills that are required in an increasingly technology driven era.

• This joint initiative with Microsoft india is an extension of the Government’s ongoing programs to support the youth from rural and semi-urban areas.
• Through DigiSaksham initiative, free of cost training in digital skills including basic skills as well as advance computing, will be provided to more than 3 lakh youths in the first year.
• The initiative gives priority to the job-seekers of semi urban areas belonging to disadvantaged communities, including those who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19 pandemic.
• Under the DigiSaksham initiative, there will be basically three types of training viz. Digital Skills – Self paced learning, VILT mode training (Virtual Instructor led) and ILT mode training (Instructor led).
• The ILT training which is in person training would be conducted at the Model Career Centres (MCCs) and National Career Service Centres (NCSC) for SCs/STs across the country.
• Through this initiative, nearly one crore active jobseekers registered on National Career Service (NCS) Portal will be able to access training in areas like Java Script, Data Visualisation, Advance Excel, Power Bi, HTML, Programming languages etc, equipping them with the skills required in a digital economy.
• DigiSaksham will be implemented in the field by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India (AKRSP-I).
• The DigiSaksham initiative will equip more than 300,000 youth in technical skills in the first year.

NCS Portal

• The Jobseekers can access the training through National Career Service (NCS) Portal.
• The Ministry of Labour and Employment is implementing the National Career Service (NCS) Project as a Mission Mode Project for transformation of the National Employment Service to provide a variety of employment related services like job matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, apprenticeship, internships etc.

Hence only statement 2 is correct

The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) located at Hanle near Leh in Ladakh is becoming one of the promising observatory sites globally, said a recent study.

• This is due to its advantages of more clear nights, minimal light pollution, background aerosol concentration, extremely dry atmospheric condition, and uninterrupted by monsoon.
• night observations at IAO-Hanle from 2m-Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) are possible throughout the year without any interruption due to monsoons.
• Researchers from India and their collaborators carried out a detailed study of the night time cloud cover fraction over 8 high altitude observatories, including three in India.
• They analysed datasets for the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) in Hanle and Merak (Ladakh), and Devasthal (Nainital) in India.
• Hence both statements are correct.

To provide 'one-stop access' to elderly care products and services, the union government has designed the 'Senior care Ageing Growth Engine' (SAGE) project.

• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) said that the SAGE is aimed at promoting private enterprises to bring out innovation in products to benefit the elderly.
• The project is based on the recommendations of the Empowered Expert Committee (EEC) report on start-ups for the elderly.
• The inter-ministerial committee for the Senior Citizen Welfare Fund (SCWF) has considered funding of about Rs 100 crore as equity support to the selected start-ups with a maximum of Rs one core per start-up.
• Hence both statements are correct.

International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has constituted an Expert Committee to recommend approach towards development of Sustainable Finance Hub and provide road map for the same.

• The expert committee is being chaired by Shri C.K. Mishra, Former Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
• The committee consists of leaders across the sustainable finance spectrum, including international agencies, standard setting bodies, funds, academia, and consultancies.
• International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has been established as a unified regulator to develop and regulate financial products, financial services, and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in India.
• IFSCA envisions GIFT- IFSC as a global hub for sustainable finance thereby acting as a gateway for channelizing foreign capital into India.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 on 1st October 2021, at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.

• SBM-U 2.0 envisions to make all cities ‘Garbage Free’ and ensure grey and black water management in all cities other than those covered under AMRUT, make all urban local bodies as ODF+ and those with a population of less than 1 lakh as ODF++, thereby achieving the vision of safe sanitation in urban areas.
• The Mission will focus on source segregation of solid waste, utilizing the principles of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), scientific processing of all types of municipal solid waste and remediation of legacy dumpsites for effective solid waste management.
• The outlay of SBM-U 2.0 is around ₹1.41 lakh crore.

Impact of SBM-U

• Swachhta has become a Jan Andolan today.
• All urban local bodies have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) and 70% solid waste is being scientifically processed now.
• Hence both statements are correct.

• India and the UK are likely to announce a joint declaration on “one sun, one world, one grid” — or OSOWOG at the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP26).
• The UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26, is scheduled to be held between 31^st October and 12^th November in Scotland.
• The concept of OSOWOG is what the British have called a green grid.
• The idea behind the concept is a trans-national electricity grid supplying solar power across the globe. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The vision behind the OSOWOG is ‘The Sun Never Sets’ and is a constant at some geographical location, globally, at any given point of time.
  • This is by far one of the most ambitious schemes undertaken by any country (India) and is of global significance in terms of sharing economic benefits.
  • It has been taken up under the technical assistance program of the World Bank. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • The OSOWOG plan may also leverage the International Solar Alliance (ISA), co-founded by India that has 80 countries as members.
  • With India in the middle, the solar spectrum can easily be divided into two broad zones, which are:
    • Far East including countries like Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Lao, Cambodia etc.
    • Far West covering the Middle East and the Africa Region.

• Recently, the Union Labour Ministry and Microsoft India have jointly launched a digital skilled platform — DigiSaksham — to enhance youth employability. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• This joint initiative is an extension of the ongoing programs to support the youth from rural and semi-urban areas.
  • Free of cost training in digital skills including basic skills as well as advanced computing, will be provided to more than 3 lakh youths in the first year.
  • Priority will be given to the job-seekers of semi urban areas belonging to disadvantaged communities, including those who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
    • Training would be conducted at the Model Career Centres (MCCs) and National Career Service Centres (NCSC) for Scheduled Castes (SCs)/Scheduled Tribes (STs) across the country.
• It will be implemented by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India (AKRSP-I).
  • AKJRSP-I is a non-denominational, non-government development organization. It works as a catalyst for the betterment of rural communities by providing direct support to local communities.

Public Healthcare in India

• Policy making in the country’s health sector is shaped by its federal structure and the Central-State divisions of responsibilities and financing.
• State List: Public health and sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries are state subjects, which means the primary responsibility of their management and service delivery lies with the states.
• Union List: The Centre also invests in health services through Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as the National Health Mission (NHM) and Ayushman Bharat.
• Concurrent List: The Centre plays an important role in vital statistics, medical education, and drugs administration, among others, which are subjects in the Concurrent List, as also in planning, policy making, and funding for public health at state and national levels.
• Hence, option A is correct.

NITI Aayog today released a performance assessment report of district hospitals in India, titled Best Practices in the Performance of District Hospitals.

• The report is an outcome of collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and WHO India. The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers, a constituent board of the Quality Council of India, conducted the on-ground data validation.
• This report is the first-ever performance assessment of district hospitals undertaken across the country.
• The assessment framework covers 10 Key Performance Indicators across the domains of Structure and Output.
• A total of 707 district hospitals across all States and Union Territories participated in the performance assessment.
• The Health Management Information System (HMIS) data for the year 2017–18 has been used as baseline for this exercise.
• The framework classifies hospitals in three categories: Small Hospitals (less than or equal to 200 beds), Mid-sized Hospitals (between 201–300 beds) and Large Hospitals (more than 300 beds).
• Overall, 75 district hospitals across 24 States and Union Territories emerged as top performers on indicators ranging from availability of beds, medical and paramedical staff, core health and diagnostic testing services to outputs such as bed occupancy rate and number of surgeries per surgeon.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will launch Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 on 1st October 2021, at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.

• AMRUT 2.0 aims to provide 100% coverage of water supply to all households in around 4,700 urban local bodies by providing about 2.68 crore tap connections and 100% coverage of sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities by providing around 2.64 crore sewer/ septage connections, which will benefit more than 10.5 crore people in urban areas.
• AMRUT 2.0 will adopt the principles of circular economy and promote conservation and rejuvenation of surface and groundwater bodies.
• The Mission will promote data led governance in water management and Technology Sub-Mission to leverage latest global technologies and skills.
• ‘Pey Jal Survekshan’ will be conducted to promote progressive competition among cities.
• The outlay of AMRUT 2.0 is around ₹2.87 lakh crore.

Impact of AMRUT

• AMRUT has been ensuring water security by adding 1.1 crore household water tap connections and 85 lakh sewer connections, thus benefiting more than 4 crore people.
• Hence both statements are correct.