Daily Current Affairs MCQ- February 9, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

The Yuva Sangam registration portal was recently launched at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi.

• It is an initiative of the Prime Minister of India.
• The main aim of this portal is to build close ties between the youth of the North East Region and the rest of India under the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
• Over 20000 youth will travel across India and gain a unique opportunity for cross-cultural learning.
• This Cultural Exchange Program will also allow youth to celebrate the ancient culture and natural diversity of India.
• The youth of 18 years to 30 years will get an opportunity to see different states of the country, to understand their art, culture and languages.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Reserve Bank Of India has extended the validity of authorization issued to Vakrangee to set up, own and operate White Label ATMs in India.

• Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) set up, owned and operated by non-banks are called White Label ATMs.
• Non-bank ATM operators are authorised under the Payment & Settlement Systems Act, 2007 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Such non-bank entities should have a minimum net worth of Rs 100 crore as per the latest financial year’s audited balance sheet, which is to be maintained at all times.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), up to 100 per cent, is allowed under the automatic route in the activity of White Label ATM (WLA) Operations.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Madras High Court recently dismissed a civil revision petition filed by a woman against an order of a lower court that had allowed a second divorce petition filed by her husband on the ground of res-judicata.

What is res judicata?

• The concept of res judicata has evolved from the English Common Law System.
• Res judicata literally means ‘the thing has been judged”.
• The principle of res judicata applies when a litigant attempts to file a subsequent lawsuit on the same matter after having received a judgment in a previous case involving the same parties.
• It is a judicial concept which means that the issue before the court has already been decided by another court, between the same parties, and the courts do not allow a petition to be filed in the same or to the other Court.
• Therefore, the court will dismiss the case before it as being useless.
• Res Judicata as a concept is applicable both in the case of the Civil as well as Criminal legal system.
• Purpose:
• To prevent injustice to the parties of a case supposedly finished.
• To avoid unnecessary waste of resources and time of the Judicial System

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) targets 1000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to turn direct exporters of farm produce.

About Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA):

• APEDA was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act of 1985.
• Objective: To develop and promote the export of scheduled products.
• The products specified under the APEDA ACT are called scheduled products, and exporters of such scheduled products are required to register under APEDA.
• It provides financial assistance, information, and guidelines for the development of scheduled products.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Examples of scheduled products: Fruits, Vegetable, Meat, Poultry Products. Dairy Products, Confectionery, Biscuits, Bakery Products, Honey, Jaggery, etc

Hence both statements are correct.

The Director of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) recently said that the Government of India has made impressive progress in recent years in accelerating energy efficiency in industrial sectors through its flagship program Perform, Achieve & Trade (PAT) Scheme.

About Perform, Achieve & Trade (PAT) Scheme:

• PAT Scheme is a flagship program under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE).
• Implementing Agency: It is implemented by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the aegis of the Ministry of Power.
• Objective: PAT scheme aims at reducing Specific Energy Consumption (SEC), i.e., energy use per unit of production for Designated Consumers (DCs) in energy-intensive sectors, with an associated market mechanism to enhance the cost-effectiveness through certification of excess energy saving, which can be traded.
• Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts):
• The excess energy savings are converted into tradable instruments called Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts) that are traded at the Power Exchanges.
• Trading Platform: The two Power Exchanges, India Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL) provide the trading platform for ESCerts.
• Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is the market regulator for the trading of ESCerts.
• PAT Scheme is implemented in cycles of 3 years each, where the Designated Consumers (DCs) are assigned SEC reduction targets.
• Designated Consumers (DCs) who fall short of their targets bid for the purchase of ESCerts.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, scientists have discovered a third natural source of quasicrystals.

• Quasicrystal, also called quasi-periodic crystal, matter formed atomically in a manner somewhere between the amorphous solids of glasses and the precise pattern of crystals.
• In quasicrystals, the atoms are arranged in a pattern that repeats itself at irregular, yet predictable, intervals.
• The American-Israeli scientist Dan Shechtman discovered quasicrystals in the lab in 1982.
• Recently in the Sand Hills dunes in northern Nebraska, where scientists found silicate glass which is a dodecagonal quasicrystal, rare even for quasicrystals.
• They are used in surgical instruments, LED lights and nonstick frying pans.
• They have poor heat conductivity, which makes them good insulators.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, an alleged fossil discovered near Bhopal about two years ago and thought to be of the extinct Dickinsonia turned out to be the impression of a decayed beehive.

• Dickinsonia is an extinct genus of basal animal that lived during the late Ediacaran period on ocean floors around present-day’s Australia, Russia and Ukraine.
• The individual Dickinsonia typically resembles a bilaterally symmetrical ribbed oval.
• The discovery of cholesterol molecules in fossils of Dickinsonia lends support to the idea that Dickinsonia was an animal.
• It is believed to be one of the key links between the early, simple organisms and the explosion of life in the Cambrian Period, about 541 million years ago.
• The Ediacaran period consisted of tubular and frond-shaped organisms that lived during this period.
• The Ediacaran Period was about 20 million years before the emergence of modern animal life — a period known as the Cambrian explosion.

Hence both statements are correct.

An extremely large earthquake with a magnitude 7.8 out of 10 on the moment magnitude scale occurred in the southeast of Turkey, near the border with Syria.

About Moment Magnitude Scale:

• It is a logarithmic scale that measures the total amount of energy released by an earthquake.
• It is the only scale capable of reliably measuring the magnitudes of the largest, most destructive earthquakes (that is, greater than magnitude 8).
• It was developed in the 1970s by Japanese seismologist Hiroo Kanamori and American seismologist Thomas C. Hanks.
• How is it calculated?
• The moment magnitude scale is based on the total moment release of the earthquake. 
• Moment is a product of the distance a fault moved and the force required to move it. 
• It is derived from modeling recordings of the earthquake at multiple stations. 
• Moment magnitude estimates are about the same as Richter magnitudes for small to large earthquakes. But only the moment magnitude scale is capable of measuring M8 (read "magnitude 8") and greater events accurately.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Budget 2023 proposes a Tax Collection at Source (TCS) for foreign outward remittance under LRS (other than for Education and medical purpose) of 20% on the entire value.

About the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS):

• LRS allows Indian residents to freely remit up to USD $250,000 per financial year for current or capital account transactions or a combination of both. Any remittance exceeding this limit requires prior permission from the RBI.
• The scheme was introduced on February 4, 2004
• Who can remit funds under LRS?
• Only individual Indian residents, including minors, are permitted to remit funds under LRS.
• Corporates, partnership firms, HUF, trusts, etc., are excluded from its ambit.
• Frequency of Remittances:
• There are no restrictions on the frequency of remittances under LRS. 
• Once a remittance is made for an amount up to USD 2,50,000 during the financial year, a resident individual would not be eligible to make any further remittances under this scheme.
• Tax liability on profit made: If any profit is made on foreign investments made under LRS, it is taxable in India based on how long the investment was held.

Hence both statements are not correct.

West Bengal Government said that it will table two motions in the Assembly — one against “attempts to divide West Bengal” and the other to “recognize Sarna religion of the tribals”.

About Sarna Religion:

• Followers of the Sarna faith are nature worshippers.
• The holy grail of the Sarna faith is “Jal (water), Jungle (forest), Zameen (land).”
• Its followers pray to the trees and hills while believing in protecting the forest areas.
• Believers of the Sarna faith do not practice idol worship, nor do they adhere to the concept of the Varna system, heaven-hell, etc.
• They are concentrated mainly in the tribal belt states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam. 
• Several surveys and reports have indicated that over 50 lakh tribal people in the entire country put their religion as ‘Sarna’ in the 2011 census, although it was not a code.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.