Daily Current Affairs MCQ - September 13, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

The government has appointed 31 people as judicial, technical and accountant members at the NCLT and the ITAT, amid the Supreme Court flagging concerns about vacancies in various tribunals.

• The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) deals with matters mainly related to companies law and the insolvency law, while the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) deals with income tax matters.
• The appointments also come at a time when the Supreme Court has flagged concerns, saying the Centre was “emasculating” tribunals by not appointing officials to the quasi-judicial bodies that are facing a staff crunch.
• The appointments will be for five years from the date of assumption of charge or till attaining the age of 65 or until further orders.
• There are around 250 posts lying vacant at various key tribunals and appellate tribunals such as the NCLT, the DRT, the TDSAT and the SAT.
• Hence both statements are correct.

In a surprise choice, first-time legislator Bhupendra Patel was elected the new Chief Minister of Gujarat.

• Bhupendra Patel will be the 17th Chief Minister of Gujarat. He will succeed the outgoing Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who resigned from the post on Saturday.
• Mr. Patel became the MLA from the Ghatlodiya seat of Ahmedabad city in 2017. Mr. Bhupendra Patel is believed to be close to Anandiben Patel- Governor of Uttar Pradesh and former Chief Minister of Gujarat.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

India's largest open air fernery was inaugurated in Uttarakhand’s Ranikhet.

• The fernery is home to a large number of fern species, some of which are endemic to the state, some hold medicinal value while some are threatened species that demand care and conservation.
• The newly inaugurated fernery is one of the biggest ferneries in India. The fernery has the largest collection of fern species, second to only Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), Thiruvananthapuram.
• However, it is the country’s first open-air fernery in natural surroundings which is not under any poly-house/ shade house.
• It has been developed by the Research Wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department over a period of three years, under Central Government’s CAMPA scheme.
• The CAMPA or Compensatory Afforestation Management Funds Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was introduced in 2004 to accelerate activities for the preservation of natural forests, management of wildlife, infrastructure development in forests, and other allied works.
• Ferns are non-flowering pteridophytes. They generally reproduce by producing spores. However, similar to flowering plants, ferns have roots, stems, and leaves. Ferns are the first plant with a fully developed vascular system.
• About 9% of the world’s Pteridophytes occur in India or only in 2.5% landmass of the world. Ferns and Fern-allies are the second largest group of plants in Indian flora and are represented by 33 families 130 genera and 1,267 species. 70 species among these are endemic to India.
• Ferns are important for the environment for their ornamental values. They have medicinal and edible purposes. Furthermore, the indicators of moisture, ferns, also clean the ecosystem and are good nitrogen fixating agents.
• They are also used to filter heavy metals from polluted waters and are a bioindicator for the health of an ecosystem.
• Further, ferns provide microhabitats, as well as shelter and shade to small animals, are a source of food or medicine for animals, including people.
• Recently, India’s first cryptogamic garden was inaugurated in July 2021 in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun district. The garden is a first of its kind and houses a plethora of cryptogams species.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Sonal Shukla, noted feminist and educator, dies of cardiac arrest at 80.

• The chief founder trustee of Vacha Charitable Trust, she had been working with adolescent girls and women from the 1980s.
• Popularly known as “Sonal Ben”, she had been actively involved in feminist movements for many decades and was also the co-founder of the group Forum Against Rape, which is now known as the Forum Against Oppression of Women.
• Vacha, a non-profit that she had co-founded, had started as a resource centre for anyone wanting to know about women’s movement. The centre served as the first only-women’s book library with a collection of over 3,000 books.
• A recipient of many awards, Shukla, early this year, was recognised as a Feminist Icon in India by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, a pro-democracy and social justice non-profit based in Germany.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

The Netherlands is considering proposals, which are the most radical of its kind in Europe, of slashing livestock numbers by 30 per cent by forcing farmers to sell their emission rights and even their land to the state.

• This comes following growing public debate in the country over the effects of livestock production on human health and the environment. The debate had found a renewed impetus after the Q fever epidemic which hit the most densely populated livestock areas in the country in 2007-10.
• The Netherlands is the EU’s biggest meat exporter. It has also one of the largest livestock industries in Europe, with more than 100 million cattle, chickens and pigs.

What is the reason behind such a plan?

• The Netherlands is battling an acute climate crisis caused by an excess of nitrogen emissions. The concern regarding livestock stems from the fact that they produce manure which, when mixed with urine, releases ammonia, which is a nitrogen compound.
• This ammonia, via farm runoff, can get into waterbodies, in which case the excessive nitrogen will damage sensitive natural habitats. Nitrogen can lead to algae that deplete oxygen at the surface of the water.
• A study published in Elsevier last year stated that livestock production leads to alarming nitrate pollution of groundwater.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

The commerce ministry’s arm Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has introduced an online system for traders who seek tariff rate quota (TRQ) for imports, a move aimed at promoting ease of doing business in the country.
The TRQ is a mechanism that allows import of a set quantity of specific products. Tariff quotas are used on a wide range of products but most are in the agriculture sector. Cereals, meat, fruit and vegetables, and dairy products are the most common, and sugar is also protected in most producing countries.

• Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time.
• Lead in bone is released into blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing foetus.
• WHO has identified lead as 1 of 10 chemicals of major public health concern.
• WHO has joined with the United Nations Environment Programme to form the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint.

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Lebanon’s financial meltdown has swiftly worsened in the last month, with much of the country crippled by fuel shortages that have ignited country-wide security incidents.

• Over two years, around 78 per cent of the Lebanese population has fallen into poverty. The World Bank says it is one of the sharpest depressions of modern times.
• Early in the crisis, Lebanon defaulted on its massive pile of public debt, including $31 billion of Eurobonds that remain outstanding to creditors.
• The currency has fallen by more than 90 per cent, demolishing purchasing power in a country dependent on imports. The banking system is paralysed.
• The fuel shortages have led to confrontations at petrol stations, where motorists have to wait for hours and weapons have been drawn in melees over fuel. Fuel tankers have been hijacked.
• Lebanon is a country in Western Asia.
• It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lies to its west across the Mediterranean Sea.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

September 12 marks the 124th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi that has inspired a host of armies, books and films, both at home and abroad.

• The Battle of Saragarhi is considered one of the finest last stands in the military history of the world. Twenty-one soldiers were pitted against over 8,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribals but they managed to hold the fort for seven hours.
• Though heavily outnumbered, the soldiers of 36th Sikhs (now 4 Sikh), led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought till their last breath, killing 200 tribals and injuring 600.
• Saragarhi was the communication tower between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan. The two forts in the rugged North West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan. were built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh but renamed by the British.
• Saragarhi helped to link up the two important forts which housed a large number of British troops in the rugged terrain of NWFP.
• Hence both statements are correct.