Daily Current Affairs MCQ- December 1, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Ministry of Home Affairs has recently asked the States/Union Territories to appoint a Child Welfare Police Officer (CWPO) in every police station to exclusively deal with children, either as victims or perpetrators.

• According to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, there should be at least one officer, not below the rank of an Assistant Sub-Inspector, as CWPO in every station.
• National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had requested that a Special Juvenile Police Unit in each district and city, which is headed by an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, be established.
• The unit would comprise CWPOs and two social workers having experience of working in the field of child welfare, of whom one shall be a woman, to co-ordinate all functions of police in relation to children.
• The contact particulars of the CWPOs should be displayed in all police stations for the public to contact.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Assam’s Bodoland University is part of collaborative research on fungus-powered biosynthesised nanogold particles that has received an international patent from Germany.

• Cordy gold nanoparticles (Cor-AuNPs) is the outcome of a collaborative experiment by scientists from four Indian institutions, has earned an international patent from Germany.
• These nanoparticles, derived from the synthesis of the extracts of Cordyceps militaris and gold salts, could make drug delivery in the human body faster and surer.
• Cordyceps militaris is a high value parasitic fungus, lab-grown at the Department of Biotechnology’s Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) in Bodoland University, one of the collaborators of the patented research work.
• Gold salts are ionic chemical compounds of gold generally used in medicine.
• Wild Cordyceps mushroom is found in the eastern Himalayan belt.

Hence both statements are correct.

The recent incidents of ground shaking and swelling at Mauna Loa indicating that the largest active volcano in the world could erupt.

• Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
• It’s not the tallest (that title goes to Mauna Kea) but it’s the largest and makes up about half of the island’s land mass.
• It sits immediately north of Kilauea volcano, which is currently erupting from its summit crater.
• Kilauea is well-known for a 2018 eruption that destroyed 700 homes and sent rivers of lava spreading across farms and into the ocean.
• Mauna Loa last erupted 38 years ago.
• In written history, dating to 1843, it’s erupted 33 times.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Ministry of Education recently released a detailed report on Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2021-22 on school education of India.

Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE):

• The UDISE+ system of online data collection from the schools was developed by Department of School Education & Literacy in the year 2018-19 to overcome the issues related to erstwhile practice of manual data filling in paper format.
• In UDISE+ system, improvements have been made particularly in the areas related to data capture, data mapping and data verification.
• In UDISE+ 2021-22, additional data on important indicators viz., digital library, peer learning, hard spot identification, number of books available in school library, etc have been collected for the first time to align with the National Education Policy 2020 initiatives.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Supreme Court recently said that those conducting the ‘two-finger test’ on alleged rape victims will be held guilty of misconduct.

• A woman who has been sexually assaulted undergoes a medical examination for ascertaining her health and medical needs, collection of evidence, etc.
• The two-finger test, carried out by a medical practitioner, involves the examination of her vagina to check if she is habituated to sexual intercourse. The practice is unscientific and does not provide any definite information. Moreover, such ‘information’ has no bearing on an allegation of rape.
• A handbook released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on dealing with sexual assault victims says, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity”.

The Supreme Court Observations:

• In 2004 SC observed that whether a woman is ‘habituated to sexual intercourse’ or ‘habitual to sexual intercourse’ is irrelevant for the purposes of determining whether the ingredients of Section 375 (rape) of the IPC are present in a particular case.
• In 2013, the SC court had held that the two-finger test violates a woman’s right to privacy and asked the government to provide better medical procedures to confirm sexual assault.
• Invoking the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights 1966 and the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power 1985, the apex court said rape survivors are entitled to legal recourse that does not re-traumatise them or violate their physical or mental integrity and dignity.

Hence both statements are correct.

Senna spectabilis, an exotic tree, has taken over between 800 hectares and 1,200 hectares of the buffer zones of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in Nilgiris hill district. 

• Senna spectabilis is an invasive species.
• It is introduced as an ornamental species and for use as firewood from South and Central America.
• The species has become highly invasive in the Sigur plateau in both the core and buffer zones of the MTR.
• Senna spectabilis, along with Lantana camara, is among five major invasive weeds that had taken over vast swathes of the Nilgiris.
• Eucalyptus and pine, though exotic, do not spread as quickly as the other species and are considered easier to manage.

Hence both statements are correct.

Two Uttar Pradesh legislators were convicted on criminal charges in recent days, but only one of them has been disqualified and his seat declared vacant by the State’s Legislative Assembly secretariat.

• Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951, contains provisions aimed at decriminalising electoral politics.
• There are two categories of criminal cases that attract disqualification upon conviction.
• In the first category are offences that entail disqualification for a period of six years upon any conviction.
  • If the punishment is a fine, the six-year period will run from the date of conviction, but if there is a prison sentence, the disqualification will begin on the date of conviction, and will continue up to the completion of six years after the date of release from jail.
  • Major IPC offences are included under this head:
    • making speeches that cause enmity between groups (Sec.153A) and doing so in a place of worship (Sec.505), bribery and personation during elections and other electoral offences, offences relating to rape and cruelty to women by husband and latter’s relatives.
    • Besides, serious provisions of special laws such as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, Customs Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act etc are among the category of offences that entail disqualification regardless of the quantum of punishment.
    • Laws for prevention of Sati, corruption, terrorism and insult to national flag and national anthem etc are also part of this group.
• All other criminal provisions form a separate category under which mere conviction will not entail disqualification. A sentence of at least two years in prison is needed to incur such disqualification.

Legal protection:

• Under Section 8(4) of the RPA, legislators could avoid immediate disqualification until 2013.
• The provision said that with respect to a Member of Parliament or a State legislator the disqualification will not take effect for three months.
• If within that period, the convicted legislator files an appeal or revision application, it will not take effect until the disposal of the appeal or application.
• In Lily Thomas vs. Union of India, the Supreme Court struck down clause (4) as unconstitutional, thus removing the protection enjoyed by lawmakers.

Hence both statements are correct.

Due to the intervention of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) and the Panamaram grama panchayat, Panamaram heronry is set to get a fresh lease of life.

• Panamaram heronry is the largest breeding ground of different species of herons in the Malabar region.
• The heronry, formed on a sandbank on the Panamaram River, is a breeding ground for nine species of waterbirds.
• The tiny islet is a haven for globally threatened waterfowls, including the black headed-ibis, purple heron, large egret, median egret, little egret, pond heron, night heron, and little cormorant.
• The site is also the only location in State where the cattle egret breeds.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance notified Scheme for Financial Support for Project Development Expenses of PPP Projects – India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme (IIPDF Scheme)

• What is it? It is a Central Sector Scheme which will aid the development of quality PPP projects by providing necessary funding support to the project sponsoring authorities, both in the Central and State Governments.
• Funding:
  • The corpus of the IIPDF shall comprise of initial budgetary outlay of Rs. 100 Crore by the Ministry of Finance. This would be supplemented, should it become necessary, through budgetary support by the Ministry of Finance from time to time.
  • Funding under IIPDF Scheme is in addition to the already operational Scheme for Financial Support to PPPs in Infrastructure (VGF Scheme).
• Organisational Structure: The IIPDF will be administered by the Empowered Institution. The Empowered Institution will:
  • Select projects for which project development costs will be funded.
  • Set the terms and conditions under which the funding will be provided and recovered.
  • Set milestones for disbursing and recovering (where appropriate) the funding.
• The Public Private Partnership Cell of the DEA will provide support functions examine the applications received for assistance under IIPDF.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, Aibawk cluster in the Aizwal, Mizoram becomes the first cluster to be completed under the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission.

• What is SPMRM? It was launched by the Prime Minister in February 2016 with a vision to provide amenities to rural areas which are perceived to be urban and have the potential to stimulate local economic development.
• The Mission aim: Development of 300 Rurban clusters, in the next five years.
• What is a ‘Rurban Cluster’? It is a cluster of geographically contiguous villages with a population of about 25000 to 50000 in plain and coastal areas and with a population of 5000 to 15000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas.
• Selection of the ‘Rurban Clusters’
• There are two categories of clusters under SPMRM: Non-Tribal and Tribal. The process of selection varies for each of these categories.
• While selecting the Rurban cluster, the State may identify a large village/gram panchayat that are growth centers with resources available in the area that could potentially lead the economic transformation of the region. These growth centres could also be block headquarter, villages or census towns.
• The clusters could then be formed by identifying geographically contiguous villages/gram panchayats within a radius of 5–10 km (or radius appropriate to the population density and geography of the region) around the identified growth centre.

Hence both statements are not correct.