Daily Current Affairs MCQ- September 6, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Minerals Security Partnership (MSP)

• It is an ambitious new US-led partnership to secure supply chains of critical minerals, aimed at reducing dependency on China.
  • There is no global definition of critical minerals, but essentially, they are mineral deposits with high economic vulnerability and high global supply chain risk.
• The partnership was announced at the world’s largest mining event, held in Toronto.
• MSP partner countries include Canada, Australia, Finland, Germany, France, Japan, Republic of Korea, Sweden, UK, US, and European Commission.

Hence both statements are correct.

India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution:

• Countries from all over the world had pledged to arrive at a new international climate agreement (Paris Agreement) by the end of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in 2015.
  • The Paris Agreement is a global treaty in which more than 200 countries pledged to work together to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and slow climate change.
  • The accord aims to keep global warming far below 2°C, preferably 1.5°C, when compared to pre-industry levels.
• Countries have agreed to publicly outline their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for post-2020 climate action to meet Paris Agreement targets.
  • INDC is a non-binding national plan highlighting climate change mitigation, including climate-related targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions.
• In 2015, India submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC.

Hence both statements are correct.

India ratified pledges made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Glasgow in November 2021 to accelerate the country’s reliance on renewable energy to power the economy and be effectively free from use of fossil fuels by 2070. However, the approved pledges were fewer than those Mr. Modi committed to.

• The Union Cabinet approved an update to India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
• Mr. Modi had laid out five commitments, or Panchamrit, as the government references it, namely:
  • India will increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW (gigawatt) by 2030;
  • will meet 50% of its energy requirements from “renewable energy” by 2030;
  • will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now till 2030;
  • will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by more than 45%; and
  • will achieve the target of “net zero” by the year 2070, when there will be no net carbon dioxide emitted from energy sources.
• A press statement, following the Cabinet approval, only mentions two of these promises, namely that
  • India is committed to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030, from the 2005 level and
  • achieving 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), at its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for sugar season 2022-23 (October - September) at ₹305 per quintal.

• The amount is for sugarcane with a basic sugar recovery rate of 10.25%. The Centre has also announced a premium of ₹3.05 per quintal for each 0.1% increase in recovery of sugar over and above 10.25% and reduction in FRP by ₹3.05 per quintal for every 0.1% decrease in recovery.
• The FRP for last season was ₹290 per quintal with a basic recovery rate of 10%.
• While the Centre claimed the increase will protect the interest of sugarcane farmers, the farmers’ organisations said the FRP is too low when compared to the increase in input cost and the increase of 0.25% in recovery rate is a blow to them.
• The Centre has also decided that there shall not be any deduction in case of sugar mills where recovery is below 9.5%.

Hence both statements are correct.

Vigilance Commissioner Suresh N. Patel was sworn in as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• Mr. Patel was officiating as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) since June this year after Sanjay Kothari, former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, completed his term.
• With these appointments, the Central Vigilance Commission is in its full strength now.
• The Commission is headed by a central vigilance commissioner and it can have two Vigilance Commissioners.
• Mr Patel, former managing director and chief executive officer of Andhra Bank, was in April 2020 appointed as the vigilance commissioner. Mr Patel’s elevation was approved by a selection panel headed by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition (LoP).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Supreme Court said Parliament may not be able to effectively debate the issue of doing away with “irrational freebies” offered to voters during elections, saying the “reality” is that not a single political party wants to take away freebies.

• The court suggested setting up a specialised body composed of persons who can “dispassionately” examine the problem.
• The observations from a Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana came even as the Centre said these freebies were paving the way for an “economic disaster” besides “distorting the informed decision of voters”.
• The Centre, represented by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, said it “substantially and in principle” supported doing away with the practice of promising freebies to voters.
• The court directed the parties to make “suggestions for the composition of a body”.
• It proposed that this body could examine ways to resolve the issue of freebies and file a report before the Centre or the Election Commission of India (ECI). The court said once the parties come up with suggestions on the composition of such a body in a week, it would pass orders.

Hence both statements are correct.

India’s trade deficit has widened to a record $31.02 billion in July thanks to contracting merchandise exports and a rise in imports. This is a three-times increase from the $10.63 billion trade deficit reported in July last year.

• Trade deficit or negative balance of trade (BOT) is the gap between exports and imports. When money spent on imports exceeds that spent on exports in a country, trade deficit occurs.
• It can be calculated for different goods and services and also for international transactions. The opposite of trade deficit is trade surplus.

What causes it?

• There are multiple factors that can be responsible.
• One of them is some goods not being produced domestically. In that case, they have to be imported. This leads to an imbalance in their trade. A weak currency can also be a cause as it makes trade expensive.

Is it bad for a country’s economy?

• If trade deficit increases, a country’s GDP decreases. A higher trade deficit can decrease the local currency’s value.
• More imports than exports, according to economists, impact the jobs market and lead to an increase in unemployment. If more mobiles are imported and less produced locally, then there will be less local jobs in that sector.

Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

In a step to ensure better flow of data on taxpayers to the authorities and higher compliance, the turnover threshold for e-invoicing has been halved to Rs 10 crore effective October 1 this year under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

• Businesses with annual turnover of Rs 10 crore or more will have to generate e-invoices for business-to-business (B2B) transactions from October 1 this year. The existing threshold for this is Rs 20 crore.
• Pursuant to the GST Council’s decision to introduce e-invoicing in a phased manner, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on August 1 notified lowering the e-invoice threshold to Rs 10 crore.
• The GST Council approved the standard of e-invoice in its 37th meeting held on September 20, 2019. E-invoicing for B2B transactions was made mandatory for companies with turnover of over Rs 500 crore from October 1, 2020, which was then extended to those with turnover of over Rs 100 crore effective January 1, 2021.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India is closely monitoring the movement of a Chinese “spy ship” that is on its way to Sri Lanka and will dock at its Hambantota port around August 11.

• The vessel’s visit to the Lankan port comes at a time when the country is battling a severe economic crisis, and India is learnt to have already lodged a verbal protest against the ship’s visit.
• The ‘Yuan Wang 5’, a Chinese research and survey vessel, is en route to Hambantota, a strategically important deep-sea port developed mostly using loans from Beijing.
• ‘Yuan Wang’-class ships are used to track satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches.
• China has around seven of these tracking ships that are capable of operating throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. The ships supplement Beijing’s land-based tracking stations.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently published External Sector Report 2022 by IMF has said that the RBI’s intervention in the currency market should be limited to addressing disorderly market conditions.

International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• The IMF is an international financial institution (headquartered in Washington D.C., US).
• It works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 190 member countries. It is governed by and accountable to its member countries.
• Formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, IMF came into formal existence in 1945 with the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.