Daily Current Affairs MCQ- December 20, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

• The Coalition for Nature is formed for the implementation and adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
• The goal of the coalition is to advocate for agreed common SIDS priorities and needs such as greater means of implementing biodiversity objectives in these places by putting up a unified front. 

Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

• It is a new framework that will guide actions worldwide through 2030, to preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 

• SIDS are a distinct group of 38 UN Member States and 20 Non-UN Members/Associate Members of United Nations regional commissions that face unique social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities.
• The three geographical regions in which SIDS are located are: the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS). 
• SIDS were recognized as a special case both for their environment and development at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct

Recently, at the 15^th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Small Island Developing States have agreed to form Coalition for Nature.

• The Coalition for Nature is formed for the implementation and adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
• The goal of the coalition is to advocate for agreed common SIDS priorities and needs such as greater means of implementing biodiversity objectives in these places by putting up a unified front. 

Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

• It is a new framework that will guide actions worldwide through 2030, to preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 

• SIDS are a distinct group of 38 UN Member States and 20 Non-UN Members/Associate Members of United Nations regional commissions that face unique social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities.
• The three geographical regions in which SIDS are located are: the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS). 
• SIDS were recognized as a special case both for their environment and development at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Hence both statements are correct

Recently, Ladakh got its first ever Geographical Indication Tag to Raktsey Karpo Apricot.

• Ladakh grows more than thirty types of Apricots, but the Raktsey Karpo variety is unique to the region.
• Apricot is the major fruit of Ladakh with large-scale cultivation in both Leh and Kargil Districts among the nine fruits grown in Ladakh.
• Apricot is also being promoted under One District One Product for Kargil.

What is Geographical Indication Tag?

• A Geographical Indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• Geographical indications are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts and industrial products.
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India.
• This GI tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, NASA has launched a satellite to conduct a comprehensive study of Oceans, rivers and Lakes around the world.

About:

• The launched satellite is named as SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography).
• The advanced radar satellite is designed to give an unprecedented view of the life covering 70% of the planet, shedding new light on the mechanics and consequences of climate change.
• The satellite incorporates advanced microwave radar technology which will collect surface measurements of oceans, lakes, reservoirs and rivers in high-definition details.

Partners:

SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and United Kingdom Space Agency.

Advantages of the satellite:

• It sweeps of the planet at least twice every 21 days, will enhance Ocean circulation models bolster weather and climate forecasts and aid in managing scarce freshwater supplies in drought-stricken regions.
• It is equipped to observe the entire length of nearly all rivers wider than 330 feet and more than 1 million lakes and reservoirs larger than 5 acres.
• It will precisely measure fine differences in surface elevations around smaller currents and eddies, where much the oceans’ drawdown of heat and carbon is believed to occur.

Hence only statement 2 is correct

Over 4 crore health records of citizens digitized and linked with their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) numbers under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

About:

• What it is? It aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of Healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.
• With health records linked to their ABHA accounts digitally, citizens will be able to access and manage these records as per convenience. This enables citizens to create a comprehensive medical history across various healthcare providers thereby improving clinical decision-making.
• The ABHA(Ayushman Bharat Health Account) Number:
  • It will be used for the purposes of uniquely identifying persons, authenticating them, and threading their health records (only with the informed consent of the patient) across multiple systems and stakeholders.
  • This digital linking of individual’s health records with ABHA is being carried out extensively across different health facilities of the country with the support of State Governments.
• Health Facility Registry (HFR)
• It is a comprehensive repository of health facilities of the nation across different systems of medicine. It includes both public and private health facilities including hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories and imaging centres, pharmacies, etc.
• Enrolling in the Health Facility Registry will enable them to get connected to India's digital health ecosystem.
• Unified Health Interface (UHI):
• UHI is envisioned as an open protocol for various digital health services. UHI Network will be an open network of End User Applications (EUAs) and participating Health Service Provider (HSP) applications.
• UHI will enable a wide variety of digital health services between patients and health service providers (HSPs) including appointment booking, teleconsultation, service discovery and others.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Golden Jubilee of the NEC, being celebrated in Shillong on the 18th December 2022, will be graced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister as the Chief Guest.

About:

• North Eastern Council (NEC) is under the administrative purview of Ministry of Development of the North-Eastern Region (MDoNER).
• NEC is not a constitutional body, but a statutory organization established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971, as amended in 2002.
• It is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region which consists of the eight States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
• The Council comprises Governors and Chief Ministers of constituent States and three members nominated by the President.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

India has recently launched a ‘Group of Friends’ to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.

About:

• This Group of Friends will act as a platform to promote accountability for all acts of violence against the United Nations peacekeepers by facilitating support to the host state, creating awareness, exchanging information, sharing best practices, supporting initiatives, and mobilizing resources.
• Bangladesh, Egypt, France, India, Morocco and Nepal have joined the group as co-chairs to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.
• Group of Friends represents the "political will" of member states, particularly of the troop and police contributing countries, to champion the implementation of the provisions of U.N. Security Council resolution 2589, which was adopted in August last year under India’s Presidency of the Council.
  • Resolution 2589 had called upon member states, hosting or having hosted United Nations peacekeeping operations, to take all appropriate measures to bring to justice perpetrators of the killing of, and all acts of violence against United Nations personnel, including, but not limited to, their detention and abduction.

Hence both statements are correct.

The 63rd Session of the IHRC will be organized on 18-19 December 2022 at Uttar Pradesh State Archives.

About:

• What is it? IHRC is an all-India Forum of creators, custodians and users of records which was set up in 1919 to advice the Government of India on all issues connected with the management of records and their use for historical research.
• Secretariat: The National Archives of India, New Delhi is the Secretariat of Indian Historical Records Committee (re-designated Indian Historical Records Committee in 1911).
• The IHRC is headed by the Union Minister of Culture and comprises 134 members including agencies of the Government of India, nominees of the Government of India, representatives from the State/UT Archives, Universities and Learned Institutions. The IHRC has so far held 62 sessions.
• The Committee has two adjunct bodies :
  • Editorial Committee to examine and approve papers based on archival sources for being presented at the Sessions of the Committees
  • Standing Committee to review the action taken by the Committee on its recommendations and express its views on the agenda for the Committee’s meeting. Secretary, Ministry of Culture acts as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of IHRC.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the BSF personnel and their families on the occasion of BSF's Raising Day.

• Border Security Force (BSF) celebrates its Raising Day on 1 December every year.
• It was on December 1, 1965 that the first sector of the Punjab Frontier of the BSF was raised with its headquarters in Jalandhar.
• Currently, BSF comprises 2.65 lakh personnel, deployed across the international border in 193 battalions.
• BSF plays a crucial role in containing unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India and it prevents transborder crimes.
• It also works towards stopping illegal activities such as smuggling.
• After the Indian Army, the BSF is the only Central Armed Police Force in the nation that has an independent air wing, effective artillery regiment, dedicated marine division and a special intelligence branch.
• The BSF is also the sole paramilitary organisation globally to use an active camel cavalry to patrol the sands of the Thar Desert, which comprise of the common border between India and Pakistan.
• The ‘Creek Crocodile - a Quick Reaction Team made of BSF commandos - was also raised to counter threats like that of 26/11.
  • They guard the brackish waters of the Kutch region in Sir Creek to prevent cross-border infiltration.
• Despite being a border force, more than 7,000 women of all ranks are serving in the force on the eastern and western theatre.
• This year, BSF will be celebrating its raising day for the first time in Punjab and second time outside Delhi.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released India’s economic growth data for the second quarter of the current financial year (2022-23 or FY23).

• The second quarter or Q2 refers to the months of July, August and September.
• India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.3 per cent in Q2 on a year-on-year basis.
• In other words, it was 6.3% more than the GDP in the same months in 2021.
• MoSPI also reported that India’s Gross Value Added (GVA) in Q2 grew by. 5.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

GDP and GVA:

• GDP and GVA are the two main ways to ascertain the country’s economic performance.
• Both are measures of national income.
• The GDP measures the monetary measure of all “final” goods and services— those that are bought by the final user— produced in a country in a given period.
• The GDP does this by adding up the total expenditures in the economy; in other words, it looks at who spent how much.
• That is why GDP captures the total “demand” in the economy.

There are four key “engines of GDP growth”. These are:

• All the money Indians spent for their private consumption (that is, Private Final Consumption Expenditure or PFCE)
• All the money the government spent on its current consumption, such as salaries [Government Final Consumption Expenditure or GFCE]
• All the money spent towards investments to boost the productive capacity of the economy. This includes business firms investing in factories or the governments building roads and bridges [Gross Fixed Capital Expenditure]
• The net effect of exports (what foreigners spent on our goods) and imports (what Indians spent on foreign goods) [Net Exports or NX].

GVA:

• The GVA calculates the same national income from the supply side.
• It does so by adding up all the value added across different sectors.
• According to the RBI, the GVA of a sector is defined as the value of output minus the value of its intermediary inputs.
• This “value added” is shared among the primary factors of production, labour and capital.
• The GDP and GVA are related by the following equation:
  • GDP = (GVA) + (Taxes earned by the government) — (Subsidies provided by the government).

Hence both statements are correct.