Daily Current Affairs MCQ - September 8, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

A Special Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, said the Centre should fill the long-pending vacancies in key tribunals by the next hearing on September 13.

Timeline:

• Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976: Based on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee, Part XIV-A was added by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, titled as ‘Tribunals’ which provided for the establishment of 
• ‘Administrative Tribunals’ under Article 323-A: It gives exclusive power to the Parliament for establishing tribunals. 
• ‘Tribunals for other matters’ under Article 323-B: It gives power to the concerned State Legislature to constitute Tribunals for the respective subjects specified therein.
•  
• Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985: It provides for the establishment of three kinds of administrative Tribunals: (a) The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), State Administrative Tribunals (SAT) and Joint Administrative Tribunals (JAT). 
• Tribunalization of India: Now tribunals have replaced high courts for disputes under the Companies Act, Competition Act, SEBI Act, Electricity Act, and Consumer Protection Act among others. The number of tribunals increased to 36, in 2016.
• The Finance Act, 2017: The Finance Act, 2017 has merged eight tribunals on the ground of functional similarity and has given the power to the Government to appoint and remove the members. 

Hence both statements are correct.

Six Palestinians broke out of an Israeli prison through a tunnel dug beneath a sink, triggering a massive manhunt for the group that includes a prominent ex-militant.

• Gilboa — which opened in 2004 during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising — is a high security site where hundreds of Palestinians are detained.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Since its launch on August 26, 2021, the government’s e-Shram portal registered 21 lakh unorganised sector workers, according to data on the Labour and Employment Ministry’s portal.

• The government aims to register 38 crore unorganised workers, such as construction labourers, migrant workforce, street vendors and domestic workers, among others. The workers will be issued an e-Shram card containing a 12 digit unique number, which, going ahead, will help in including them in social security schemes, officials said.
• Portal will help build a comprehensive National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW) in the country. The government had earlier missed deadlines for creating the database, inviting criticism from the Supreme Court.
• The registration of workers on the portal will be coordinated by the Labour Ministry, state governments, trade unions and CSCs, officials said.
• A national toll free number — 14434 — will also be launched to assist and address the queries of workers seeking registration on the portal.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister of Culture launches program 'Bujurgon ki Baat–Desh Ke Saath'.

• The programme 'Bujurgon ki Baat–Desh Ke Saath’ aims at enhancing the interaction between the youth and the elder persons who are 95 years and above and thus have spent around 18 years in India before independence.
• The video of the interaction should preferably be kept below 60 seconds and can be uploaded at www.rashtragaan.in.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

In October 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal for a larger Sabarmati Ashram complex had caused much anxiety among its Trustees and residents, with the ashramwasis — third or fourth generation of ashram residents —sitting on protests fearing eviction.

• Descendants of the people who were brought into the Harijan Ashram that Mahatma Gandhi established on the bank of the Sabarmati river in 1917, to do various tasks and help run the ashram, and those who continued to stay on the premises, now controlled by one or the other trust, call themselves ashramwasis.
• They comprise all communities as Gandhi believed in ‘sarva dharma sambhav’.
• Current residents include OBCs, Dalits, a few Muslims and some Brahmins.
• There are some 263 such families on the premises who are tenants of the respective trusts on whose land they reside and will have to be relocated in order to proceed with the Gandhi Ashram redevelopment plan as envisaged by the planners, which include the Government of Gujarat.

The original ashram

• On his return from South Africa, Gandhi established the first ashram at Kochrab in 1915 which he shifted after the plagueto a piece of open land on the banks of the river Sabarmati in 1917 for experiments in farming, animal husbandry, cow breeding, Khadi and related activities.
• Originally called Harijan Ashram, spread over 120 acres, the ashram was split into six trusts later.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

• SDG12 aims at ensuring responsible consumption and production patterns everywhere in the world.
• Sustainable consumption and production refer to “the use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations”.
• Target Under SDG 12
  • Halving global food waste per capita and ensuring the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources by 2030.
  • Fighting pollution, reducing the overall waste generation, and improving the management of chemicals and toxic wastes.
  • Supporting companies’ transition to green infrastructures and practices.
  • Making sure everyone everywhere is fully informed of ways to live in harmony with nature and eventually adopts thoughtful habits.
• Hence, option B is correct.

• Pollen grains are male biological structures with the primary role of fertilisation, but when inhaled by humans, they may strain the respiratory system and cause allergies. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • Pollen is released by plants, making millions of people suffer from hay fever, pollinosis and allergic rhinitis. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • About 20-30% of the population suffers from allergic rhinitis or hay fever in India, and approximately 15% develop Asthma.
• According to a study by PGIMER, Airborne pollen dominating seasons are spring and autumn with maximum species when the phenological and meteorological parameters are considered favorable for pollen grains' growth, dispersion, and transmission. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• Brahmaputra River originates under the name of Siang or Dihang, from the Chemayungdung glacier of the Kailash range near the Mansarovar lake (Tibet). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It enters India west of Sadiya town in Arunachal Pradesh. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Tributaries: Dihing River, Dibang River, Lohit River, Dhansiri River, Kolong River, Kameng River, Manas River, Beki River, Raidak River, Jaldhaka River, Teesta River, Subansiri River. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Ministry of Coal Constitutes Task Force and Expert Committee to Prepare Road Map for Coal based Hydrogen Production.

• On India’s 75^th Independence Day, the Prime Minster announced a Hydrogen Mission. Coal is one of the important sources of hydrogen making (Brown Hydrogen) apart from Natural Gas (Grey hydrogen) and renewable energy (Green Hydrogen) through electrolysis.
• In case of renewable energy (Green Hydrogen) surplus solar power is used to electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen.
• However, Coal has not been encouraged elsewhere because of the fear that while extracting hydrogen via coal (from the moisture embedded in coal) there may be carbon emission. Almost
• In light of the above, Ministry of Coal has constituted 2 Committees
  • Task Force constituted under the Chairmanship of Shri Vinod Kumar Tiwari, Additional Secretary Coal.
  • Expert Committee under the chairmanship of Shri R.K. Malhotra, Director General (FIPI)
• Hence both statements are correct.

As part of India’s ongoing Chairship of BRICS in 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will chair the 13th BRICS Summit on 9 September 2021 in virtual format.

• The theme for the Summit is ‘BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS cooperation for continuity, consolidation and consensus’.
• India had outlined four priority areas for its Chairship. These are Reform of the Multilateral System, Counter Terrorism, Using Digital and Technological Tools for achieving SDGs and Enhancing People to People exchanges.
• This is the second time Prime Minister Modi will be chairing the BRICS Summit. Earlier he had chaired the Goa Summit in 2016.
• Hence both statements are correct.