Daily Current Affairs MCQ - September 28, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the existing foreign trade policy (FTP) will be extended till March 31, 2022.

• The Centre had earlier extended the FTP 2015-20 until September 30 this year due to the COVID-19 crisis. The FTP provides guidelines for enhancing exports to push economic growth and create jobs.
• Goyal also inaugurated a trade facilitation portal that was developed by Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) to help exporters deal with challenges due to acute shortage of containers. The portal will bring exporters and logistics service providers (LSPs) on a single platform.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The right of an institution, whether run by a majority or minority community, to receive government aid is not a fundamental right. Both have to follow the rules of the aid, the Supreme Court held in a ruling.

• Whether it is an institution run by the majority or the minority, all conditions that have relevance to the proper utilisation of the grant-in-aid by an educational institution can be imposed.
• All that Article 30(2) states is that on the ground that an institution is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language, grant of aid to that educational institution cannot be discriminated against, if other educational institutions are entitled to receive aid
• The Bench said if the government made a policy call to withdraw aid, an institution cannot question the decision as a “matter of right”. An institution is free to choose to accept the grant with the conditions or go its own way, it said.
• The judgment came in an appeal filed by Uttar Pradesh against a decision of the Allahabad High Court to declare unconstitutional a provision of the Intermediate Education Act, 1921.

Right to property is a constitutional right under Article 300A of the Constitution”. It is not a fundamental right. The Supreme Court recently held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right and is an integral part of the right to life and liberty.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

A new version of the Surface to Air Akash Missile – ‘Akash Prime’ has been successfully flight tested from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha on 27 September 2021.

• The missile intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial target mimicking enemy aircrafts, in its maiden flight test after improvements.
• In comparison to the existing Akash System, Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy. Other improvements also ensure more reliable performance under low temperature environments at higher altitudes.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Indian navy and Royal Navy of Oman signed an MOU on white shipping information exchange.

• In shipping terminology, white shipping information is about the exchange of advance information on the identity and movement of commercial, non-military merchant ships.
• The signing of the MoU between Royal Navy of Oman and Indian Navy would facilitate information exchange on merchant shipping traffic, through IFC-IOR, India and MSC, Oman and contribute to enhanced maritime safety and security in the region.
• The MoU was signed at Maritime Security Center (MSC), Muscat. The MSC was commissioned in 2013.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to establish waste to energy plant in Delhi to convert Municipal Solid Waste into Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) for use as fuel for running vehicles.

• The agreement was signed as a part of extension of SATAT initiative of the government under synchronization scheme.
• The Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme envisages setting up of 5000 CBG plants by 2023-24 with production target of 15 MMTPA, facilitating the creation of new employment opportunities and enhancing farmers' income.
• By using Municipal Solid Waste as input, this initiative involves a multi-pronged approach to reduce municipal waste on one hand and produce clean energy on the other in a sustainable manner.
• SATAT Scheme is an initiative of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Power of Deregistration:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) is not empowered to de-register political parties on the grounds of violating the Constitution or breaching the undertaking given to it at the time of registration.
  • ECI has the power to register parties under the Representation of the People Act,(RPA) 1951, but it does not have the power to deregister parties that are inactive.
• A party can only be de-registered if its registration was obtained by fraud; if it is declared illegal by the Central Government; or if a party amends its internal Constitution and notifies the ECI that it can no longer abide by the Indian Constitution.
• Hence, option C is correct.

Paddy Transplantation:

• The field where the seedlings are transplanted has to be “puddled” or tilled in standing water. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • For the first three weeks or so after transplanting, the plants are irrigated almost daily to maintain a water depth of 4-5 cm.
  • Farmers continue giving water every two-three days even for the next four-five weeks when the crop is in tillering (stem development) stage.
• The advantage of the Paddy Transplantation technique is that water is a natural herbicide that takes care of weeds in the paddy crop’s early-growth period. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Paddy transplantation is both labour- and water-intensive. Due to this farmers are switching to Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR), which has several advantages over paddy transplantation. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission:

• It aims to provide digital health IDs for all Indian citizens to help hospitals, insurance firms, and citizens access health records electronically when required. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The pilot project of the Mission had been announced by the Prime Minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15^th August 2020.
• The project is being implemented in the pilot phase in six States & Union Territories.
• The health Ids will be issued for every citizen that will also work as their health account. This health account will contain details of every test, every disease, the doctors visited, the medicines taken and the diagnosis. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Health ID is free of cost, voluntary. It will help in doing analysis of health data and lead to better planning, budgeting and implementation for health programs.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries in association with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, virtually launched the Seed Capital Module.

• It was launched on Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) MIS Portal for seed capital assistance to members of urban Self Help Groups working in the food processing sector in India.
• The seed capital portal can be accessed at https://nulm.gov.in/Auth/Login.aspx for Self Help Groups to avail the seed capital assistance of Rs.40,000 per SHG member under the PMFME Scheme.

About the PMFME Scheme

• Launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme that aims to enhance the competitiveness and promote formalization of the unorganized micro—food processing enterprises in India.
• The scheme aims to empower the self-help groups by:
  • Seed capital support of Rs.40,000 per SHG member;
  • Credit linked subsidy for capital investment up to 35% with a ceiling of Rs. 10 lakh;
  • Credit linked grantsupport up to 35% for establishing common infrastructure;
  • Handholding support for DPR preparation and;
  • Capacity building and training support.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Union Minister for MSME Narayan Rane has called for developing Coir Industry in Konkan, North and North-Eastern region of the country and expand the market network. Konkan region has great opportunities for development of Coir Industry, as its coastal areas have good coconut crop.

• Union Minister for MSME Narayan Rane informed that India contributes 70% of the global production of Coir and 80% of the world trade in Coir products.
• Coir industry provides employment to more than 7.3 lakh people in rural areas, 80% of which are women
• Acceptability of Coir products has increased rapidly due to its 'environment friendly' image. During the year 2020-21, the export of coir and coir products reached the level of Rs 3778.97 crore, with a growth rate of 17% in quantity and 37% in value, despite COVID adversities.

Significance

• Coir Industry is a traditional, labor intensive, agro-based and export oriented industry.
• The industry converts waste into wealth as the raw material used is throw away waste.

Hence both statements are correct.