Daily Current Affairs MCQ - September 29, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Jignesh Mewani, an independent MLA from Gujarat, has said he has joined the Congress “in spirit” as he could not formally do so, having been elected as an independent.

• The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, popularly known as the anti-defection law, specifies the circumstances under which changing of political parties by legislators invites action under the law. It includes situations in which an independent MLA, too, joins a party after the election.
• The law covers three scenarios with respect to shifting of political parties by an MP or an MLA.
• The first is when a member elected on the ticket of a political party “voluntarily gives up” membership of such a party or votes in the House against the wishes of the party.
• The second is when a legislator who has won his or her seat as an independent candidate joins a political party after the election.
• In both these instances, the legislator loses the seat in the legislature on changing (or joining) a party.
• The third scenario relates to nominated MPs. In their case, the law gives them six months to join a political party, after being nominated. If they join a party after such time, they stand to lose their seat in the House.
• Disqualification: Under the anti-defection law, the power to decide the disqualification of an MP or MLA rests with the presiding officer of the legislature. The law does not specify a time frame in which such a decision has to be made.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

In a study published in the journal Science, researchers have found that children born today will be hit much harder by extreme climate events than today’s adults.

• During his or her lifetime, a child born in 2021 is likely to experience on average twice as many wildfires, two to three times more droughts, almost three times more river floods and crop failures and about seven times more heat waves compared to a person who is, say, 60 years old today.
• Under a scenario of current “insufficient” climate policies, dangerous extreme heatwave events, which affect about 15% of the global land area today, could treble to 46% by the end of this century.
• However, if countries are able to follow through with their climate policies as decided under the Paris Climate Agreement, this effect could be limited to 22%, which is just seven percentage points more than the global land area that is affected today.
• In terms of experiencing droughts, heatwaves, river floods and crop failures, people under the age of 40 today will live what the researchers call “an unprecedented life”.

Inter-sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP)

• The study is based on data from the Inter-sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP).
• This is a community-driven climate-impacts modelling initiative that assess the differential impacts of climate change.
• The ISIMIP data were used alongside country-scale, life-expectancy data, population data and temperature trajectories from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Bihar has proved to be hostile terrain for Right to Information (RTI) activists, with as many as 20 having been killed since 2010. Six activists were killed in 2018 alone.

• The RTI Act came into force in June 2005.
• Sashidhar Mishra from Begusarai district was the first RTI activist killed in 2010 and just last week, Bipin Agrawal, 46, was killed, allegedly for exposing encroachment on government lands in East Champaran district.
• Agrawal had filed at least 900 RTI applications seeking details on government land encroachment in the district.
• In 2011, the Whistleblowers Protection Act was drafted. The Act was later renamed The Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2014 and was passed by both Houses of Parliament, but never notified.
• Hence both statements are correct.

On the occasion of World Rabies Day, Union Minister for Health and Union Minister of Animal Husbandry unveiled the National Action Plan for dog Mediated Rabies Elimination by 2030 (NAPRE).

• The Ministers urged all the States and UTs to make Rabies a notifiable Disease. They also launched “Joint Inter-Ministerial Declaration Support Statement” for Elimination of Dog mediated Rabies from India by 2030 through One Health Approach.
• Villagers in India refer to the disease as ‘Hadakwa’ unfamiliar with the English name. The mere mention of ‘Hadakwa’ induces terror in rural areas. They advised the senior officials present to use the more familiar term ‘Hadakwa’ in popularizing the activities to be taken up under the Plan.
• Rabies is 100% fatal but 100% vaccine preventable. 33% of global rabies deaths are recorded in India.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar launched 'Amul Honey- a product of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF)’ under active cooperation with 'National Bee Board (NBB)'.

• He emphasized the importance of National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) in increasing the income of small farmers, which is being implemented in the country for doubling income of farmers/beekeepers through beekeeping with the budgetary allocation of Rs. 500 crores.
• That there are 86% small farmers in the country.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his desire for a sweet revolution on the soil of Gujarat.
• Quality of honey is a major concern in the country for which 5 large scale Regional Honey Testing Labs and 100 Mini Honey Testing Labs are being set up all over the country.
• He also encouraged farmers/bee keepers that along with honey, they can also produce additional by products of beekeeping, viz.; bees wax, pollen, royal jelly, as these products have high demand and better prices in Indian and international market.
• After implementation of National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM), thrust is being given on assuring quality of honey, aggregation of beekeepers, providing infrastructural facilities including honey testing labs, Madhukranti portal to stop adulteration in honey production.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The real effective exchange rate (REER) of the rupee has remained around the benchmark (base year value of 100) for most part of the last 15 years, reflecting India’s better external competitiveness, a Reserve Bank of India study said.

The nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) and real effective exchange rate (REER) basket of the rupee is reviewed regularly.

The NEER is an index of the weighted average of bilateral exchange rates of home currency vis-a-vis currencies of trading partners, with weights derived from their shares in the trade basket of the home currency. A REER is the NEER adjusted by relative prices or costs, typically captured in inflation differentials between the home economy and trading partners.

Taking cognisance of these factors, the broad basket of NEER/ REER indices of the rupee has been expanded from 36 to 40 currencies and rebased to 2015-16.

An increase in a nation’s REER is an indication that its exports are becoming more expensive and its imports are becoming cheaper. It is losing its trade competitiveness.

The major applications of HAPS are in telecommunication and remote sensing sectors catering to both defence as well as civilian purposes.

Once aligned with the Combined Air Teaming System (CATS) unmanned warfare programme, HAPS could coordinate in strike missions providing versatile intelligence, surveillance and communication to troops with live video feeds and images. It can be used in Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) operations as well.

Only 16 members of the Rajya Sabha (out of 243 MPs) attended all the scheduled 361 meetings held in 2020.

Eight committees of the Rajya Sabha and 16 of the Lok Sabha are recast in September every year by both the Presiding Officers of Parliament in consultation with the respective parties and the government. Each committee has 11 members from Rajya Sabha and 20 from Lok Sabha.

The “COVID Teeka Sang Surakshit Van, DhanaurUddyam” campaign was virtually launched by Shri Arjun Munda, Minister for Tribal Affairs, Government of India on 15th July, 2021 to accelerate the pace of Covid vaccination among tribal communities of India.

• TRIFED in collaboration with UNICEF and WHO has planned to roll out this campaign across the country, with the help of partner agencies at State level in tribal districts.
• The campaign targets to leverage the 45,000 Van Dhan Self Help Groups (VDSHGs) of the Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) to promote livelihoods with health.
• The campaign is based on 3 J’s Jeevan (Life)Jeevika (Livelihood)Jaagrookta (Awareness).
• It employs awareness generation in local languages to promote vaccine uptake and COVID Appropriate Behaviour.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has so far distributed 5543 kapas plucker machines valuing around Rs. 4 crores to 5543 marginal and small farmers in all the cotton growing states (including aspirational districts) under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

• Most of the cotton in India is manually picked which is a labour intensive operation.
• Unlike other major cotton producing Countries like USA, Australia etc, fully mechanized harvesting by big machines are not successful in India due to small land holdings of cotton farmers in India, sowing/picking pattern (3-4 picking) and different climatic condition in different States.
• Therefore, hand held kapas plucker machine is one of the option to bring down the cost for the farmers and a remedy for contamination at farm level due to manual picking.
• Hand held kapasplucker machine is a light weight (about 600 gram) machine which has a pair of rollers inside having small edged teeth on their outer periphery and is operated by a light weight 12 volt. Cotton gets entangled with the rollers and is collected directly into collection bag attached to it. Design of machine makes it easy to operate at field and affordable i.e. at nominal cost of Rs. 8000 per machine (approx.).
• Advantage of kapas plucker machines is that it reduces the risks of health hazards to cotton farmers in manual picking (i.e. risk of insect bite, back pains due to standing posture for long hours, bruises/cutting on legs & hands etc).
• CCI is a Nodal agency of Govt. of India under Ministry of Textiles for undertaking Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations of cotton in the event market rate of seed cotton falls below the MSP rates to protect the cotton farmers from distress sale.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.