Daily Current Affairs MCQ - October 4, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

NITI Aayog, in a joint effort with International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Indian Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), UNICEF and Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) launched ‘The State Nutrition Profiles” for 19 States and Union Territories.

• The ‘State Nutrition Profiles’ (SNPs) give insights on nutrition outcomes, immediate and underlying determinants and interventions based on NFHS-rounds 3, 4 and 5.
• The SNPs include a comprehensive compilation of crucial data that can positively affect policy decisions and facilitate research in the area.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Chacha Chaudhary was declared as the mascot of the Namami Gange Programme at the 37th Executive Committee meeting of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).

• NMCG has tied-up with Diamond Toons to develop and distribute comics, e-comics and animated videos.
• The content will be designed with the objective of bringing about behavioral change amongst children towards Ganga and other rivers.
• The total estimated budget for the project is Rs. 2.26 Cr.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Industrial Security Agreement (ISA) summit between India and the United States was held between September 27to October 01, 2021 at New Delhi.

• The summit was organised to develop protocol for the exchange of classified information between the defence industries of both the nations.
• The ISA was signed in December 2019 to facilitate the exchange of classified information between the defence industries of both the countries. It was held to create a roadmap for the implementation of the ISA.
• During the summit, both the sides agreed in-principle to establish the Indo-US Industrial Security Joint Working Group.
• This group will meet periodically to align the policies and procedures expeditiously that will allow the defence industries to collaborate on cutting edge defence technologies.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Good control of not only blood sugar but also blood pressure and cholesterol is essential for survival and a good quality of life among Type 1 diabetics (T1D), according to a pan-India study of long-term survivors with the condition.

• A first-of-its kind report of long-term survivors of T1D from India, a multi-centric study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics.
• Comparing survivors for over 40 years with people who did not survive up to 40 years, the researchers found that “survivors had better glycemic and blood pressure control, more favourable lipid profiles and lower prevalence of complications compared to non-survivors”.
• Individuals with T1D have increased morbidity and excess premature mortality compared to those without diabetes and their life expectancy is reduced by an estimated 15-20 years, even with the life-saving insulin to their assistance. However, long-term survival with T1D is possible
• India is home to more than 95,000 children with T1D, reported to be the highest in the world, according to the 9th International Diabetes Federation Atlas.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development launched People's Plan Campaign 2021- Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas and Vibrant Gram Sabha Dashboard.

• He also released a booklet on People Plan Campaign-2021 for preparation of plans for FY 2022-23 and the 10th issue of Gramoday Sankalp Magazine.
• A Vibrant Gram Sabha Dashboard will help in increasing maximum participation through the meeting of Gram Sabha, Standing Committee meeting of Gram Panchayat, meeting of elected Panchayat public representatives throughout the year.
• Panchayats are the centre points of grassroots democracy. There are 31.65 lakh elected Panchayat representatives across the country in which 14.53 lakh are women.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), the Government of India’s national policy think tank, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Intel have come together to establish a new experience studio at the NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center (CIC).

It is located in NITI Aayog’s New Delhi premises, the studio will be a hub for collaboration and experimentation to enable problem solving and innovation between government stakeholders, startups, enterprises, and industry domain experts. The studio will help showcase the potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/ VR), blockchain, and robotics to accelerate their application in public sector use cases. The studio will encourage open innovation and serve as a hub for government, healthcare,

education, and non-profit startups from India to showcase their solutions. It will also provide

startups with an option to access necessary support to enhance and scale their solutions. NITI Aayog will also leverage the studio to demonstrate the application of geospatial, AR/VR,

drone, and IoT solutions in verticals such as healthcare, agriculture, and smart infrastructure.

The NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies CIC was established in October 2020 as part of the AWS Cloud Innovation Centers (CICs) Global Program.

Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

A team of researchers from Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, in collaboration with Sentient labs of KPIT Technologies, have developed this technology at lab-scale to extract hydrogen from agricultural residues. The technology is 25% more efficient as compared to conventional anaerobic digestion processes used today. The two-stage process eliminates the pretreatment of biomass, thus making the process economical and environment friendly. This process generates a digestate that is rich in nutrients which can be used as an organic fertilizer. The process generates Hydrogen in the first stage and Methane in the second. The methane generated in the process can also be used to generate additional hydrogen.

Skill India with due support from Directorate General of Training (DGT) and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is organizing a day long “National Apprenticeship Mela” across the country in over 400 locations on October 4th, 2021.

Under the initiative, the aim is to support the hiring of nearly one lakh apprentices and assist employers in tapping the right talent and develop it further with training and providing practical skillsets. 5th to 12thpass students, Skill Training Certificate holders, ITI students, Diploma holders and graduates are eligible to apply at the Apprenticeship Mela.

The candidates will get certificates, recognized by National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET), increasing the chances of their employability after the training. This training is under the Apprentices Act, 1961 and support through National Apprenticeship

Promotion Scheme. Hence option(c) is correct.

‘Wetlands of India Portal’ is a single point access to all information relating to wetlands. The portal has been developed under a Technical Cooperation project “Wetlands Management for Biodiversity and Climate Protection” (Wetlands Project) of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The project is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) under the International Climate Initiative (IKI). Hence option(b) is correct.

Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology at the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) in the research project aimed to save the rapidly disappearing narrative traditions of The Langas and Manganiyars communities. The Jodhpur-based Rupayan Sansthan has extended support to this initiative. The Langas and Manganiyars are hereditary communities of Muslim musicians residing mostly in western Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer and Barmer districts and Pakistan’s Tharparkar and Sanghar districts in Sindh. Hence option(d) is correct.