Daily Current Affairs MCQ - October 23, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Manthalirile 20 Communist Varshangal, a novel by Benyamin, has won the 45th Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Literary Award.

• Instituted by the Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Trust, the award commemorates the celebrated poet and lyricist.
• It carries a purse of ₹1 lakh, a bronze statuette crafted by sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman and a citation.
• In Manthalirile 20 Communist Varshangal, Benyamin, presents the inhabitants of Manthalir village, and how the heady mix of politics and religion impacts their daily struggles for existence in this essentially bucolic setting.
• Benyamin, born Benny Daniel, hails from Kulanada, Pathanamthitta. He is a recipient of the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award, the Crossword Book Award, the JCB Prize for Literature and the Muttathu Varkey Award.
• Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The hill State of Himachal Pradesh has been gradually witnessing less snow in the past decade and the area under snow is also decreasing.

• The trend triggered by climate change has alarmed environmentalists, considering the importance of seasonal snow cover as a major input in controlling the hydrology of the river basins in the ecologically fragile State.
• A recent study, conducted jointly by the State Centre on Climate Change and the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, using Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) satellite data has revealed that all major river basins, including the Satluj, Ravi, Chenab and Beas, have witnessed an overall decrease of 18.5% in area under snow in 2020-21 winters in comparison to 2019-20.
• The snowfall in peak winter is reducing slightly and, in fact, is shifting towards the late winter months or even the early summer months.”
• This phenomenon is attributed to the rising temperatures. Rapid deforestation, extensive construction and unregulated activities are the contributing factors.
• Hence both statements are correct.

A global deal to ensure big companies pay a minimum tax rate of 15% and make it harder for them to avoid taxation has been agreed by 136 countries, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said.

• The OECD said four countries – Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – had not yet joined the agreement, but that the countries behind the accord together accounted for over 90% of the global economy.
• Why a global minimum tax? With budgets strained after the COVID-19 crisis, many governments want more than ever to discourage multinationals from shifting profits – and tax revenues – to low-tax countries regardless of where their sales are made.
• The global minimum tax rate would apply to overseas profits of multinational firms with 750 million euros ($868 million) in sales globally.
• Governments could still set whatever local corporate tax rate they want, but if companies pay lower rates in a particular country, their home governments could “top up” their taxes to the 15% minimum, eliminating the advantage of shifting profits.
• A second track of the overhaul would allow countries where revenues are earned to tax 25% of the largest multinationals’ so-called excess profit – defined as profit in excess of 10% of revenue.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Indian Space Association (ISpA) on October 11, 2021.

• Indian Space Association is the Premier Industry Association of Space and Satellite companies, which aspires to be the collective voice of the Indian Space industry.
• It will undertake policy advocacy and engage with all stakeholders in the Indian Space domain, including the Government and its agencies.
• ISpA is represented by leading home grown and global corporations with advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies.
• Its founding members include Larson and Toubro, Nelco , OneWeb, Bharti Airtel, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries and Ananth Technology Limited. Other core members include Godrej, Hughes India, Azista-BST Aerospace Private Limited, BEL, Centum Electronics and Maxar India.
• Hence both statements are correct.

India and Denmark inked four agreements and decided to expand cooperation in a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen in New Delhi.

• The agreement was signed in the field of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, establishing a Centre of Excellence towards natural refrigerants for tropical climates with potential applications and on mapping of ground water resources and aquifers.
• Both the  Prime Ministers noted with satisfaction the progress in the bilateral relations since they launched the Green Strategic Partnership during their Virtual Summit on 28 September 2020.
• They welcomed the detailed 5-year Action Plan for the period 2021 to 2026  and noted the progress in its implementation.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

The Maharashtra government announced they have scrapped the position of a Police Naik (PN) in the force.

• The Maharashtra government took the decision to ensure each Police Constable (PC) who joins the force will retire at least as a Police Sub Inspector (PSI) – a two-star officer – in the force.
• As of now a PC gets promoted to PN after around 10 years of service and later in another 10 years they become Head Constables (HC) and eventually retire as Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASI) – one-star officers – after around 30-plus years of service.
• Now in the absence of the PN post, Constables will directly get promoted to Head Constables in 10 years. These Head Constables in turn will get promoted to ASI’s in another 10 years, ie. 20 years of service. And in next 10 years i.e. 30 years of their service, they will be eligible to be promoted as Police Sub Inspectors.
• Retiring as PSI will mean a higher pension as compared to retirement as ASI apart from having more powers like investigating cases.
• The decision will have an impact on the nearly 45,000 constables in the state police force.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

The Tata group has reclaimed Air India, but the priceless Air India art collection is not part of the deal and is likely to stay with the government.

• The ‘Maharajah collection’, as it is called, has over 4,000 works, including by Jatin Das, Anjolie Ela Menon, M F Husain and V S Gaitonde.
• These were on display across Air India offices, and on its calendars, posters and menu cards.
• There are posters by cartoonist Mario Miranda as well as ads designed by The New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno, besides paintings, textiles, sculptures, and traditional wooden and bronze artwork.
• No official estimate exists of the worth of the entire collection.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

NLC India Limited, a Navratna Company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Coal is operating Talabira II&III coal mines (20 MT annual capacity) in Odisha State.

• Talabira II&III OCP has commenced production from the financial year 2020-21 and supplying coal to its End Use plant, NTPL, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.
• Further to meet the requirement of country`s coal supply, the excess coal quantity after fulfilling the requirement of end use plant, selling the coal to open market through E-auction with due permission from the Coal Ministry.
• The Ministry of Coal has taken all efforts to augment coal supplies to the power sector and decided to divert and augment the supplies to power sector from captive coal blocks. The Ministry offered coal supply from Talabira II&III mines to NTPC for their Power plant.
• In this connection, both the companies worked together to commence the supply of coal from Talabira II&III OCP to NTPC (Darlipali & Lara Power Plants).
• With timely support and necessary coal delivery permits from the Department of Mines, Govt. of Odisha, the coal delivery to the Darlipali Power station has been commenced.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Seven new defence companies, carved out of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), were dedicated to the Nation at a function organised by Ministry of Defence on the occasion of ‘Vijayadashami’ in New Delhi on October 15, 2021.

• To enhance functional autonomy, efficiency and unleash new growth potential & innovation, Government had decided to convert OFB from a Government Department into seven 100 per cent Government-owned corporate entities as a measure to improve self-reliance in the defence preparedness of the country.
• These companies have commenced business from October 01, 2021.

The seven new Defence companies are:

1. Munitions India Limited (MIL);
2. Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI);
3. Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWE India);
4. Troop Comforts Limited (TCL) (Troop Comfort Items);
5. Yantra India Limited (YIL);
6. India Optel Limited (IOL) and
7. Gliders India Limited (GIL).

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

India was ranked 101 in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) for 2021 from 94 in the previous year, trailing behind its South Asian neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

• The Global Hunger Index (GHI), which tracks hunger and malnutrition, showed that 18 countries, including China, Brazil and Kuwait, shared the top rank, with GHI scores of less than five.
• The report said that wasting among children in India increased from 17.1% between 1998 and 2002 to 17.3% between 2016 and 2020.
• Neighbours Nepal (76), Bangladesh (76), Myanmar (71) and Pakistan (92) are also in the ‘alarming’ hunger category but have fared better at feeding its citizens than India.
• Though India showed improvement in indicators such as the under-5 mortality rate, prevalence of stunting among children and prevalence of undernourishment owing to inadequate food remained high, the report said. It further said food security is under assault on multiple fronts.

About the report

• The report was prepared by the Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and Germany’s Welt Hunger Hilfe. The report termed the level of hunger in India as “alarming".
• The GHI score is based on four indicators—undernourishment; child wasting or the share of children under the age of five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition; child stunting or the number of under-5 children who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition; and child mortality.
• For the 2021 report, data was assessed for 135 countries.
• Out of these, there were sufficient data to calculate GHI scores for 116 countries (in comparison, 107 countries were ranked in the 2020 report). For 19 countries, individual scores could not be calculated, and ranks could not be determined owing to a lack of data.
• The report highlighted that worsening conflict, weather extremes associated with global climate change, and the economic and health challenges associated with the covid-19 pandemic are all driving hunger.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.