Daily Current Affairs MCQ- January 16, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

India cut its windfall tax on petroleum crude to 1,700 rupees ($20.53) a tonne from 2,300 rupees a tonne, according to a recent government notification.

About Windfall Tax:

• What is it? It is a tax levied by governments against certain industries when economic conditions allow those industries to experience significantly above-average profits.
• The term “windfall” refers to an unexpected rise in profits, and the tax on windfall gains is known as the windfall tax. 
• When is it imposed?
• When the government notices a sudden increase in an industry's revenue, they impose this tax.
• However, these revenues cannot be linked to anything the company actively pursues, such as its business strategy or expansion.
• Rather, it is related to a one-off external event for which the business is not responsible. 
• Consequently, a Windfall Tax is imposed on an industry's profits when it experiences a sharp increase in revenue due to unrelated external events.
• A recent example is the sudden rise in the profits of the oil and gas industries due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 
• The unexpected windfalls are taxed by the government over and above the normal tax rates.
• The most common industries that fall target to windfall gains tax include oil, gas, and mining.
• Purpose:
• Redistribution of unexpected gains when high prices benefit producers at the expense of consumers;
• To fund social welfare schemes;
• As a supplementary revenue stream for the government;
• As a way for the Government to narrow the country’s widening trade deficit.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Recently, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched the 'One Vehicle, One FASTag' initiative.

• FASTag is a device that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly while the vehicle is in motion. 
• It is a RFID passive tag used for making toll payments directly from the customers linked prepaid or savings/current account.
• It is affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle and enables the customer to drive through toll plazas, without stopping for any toll payments.
• The toll fare is directly deducted from the linked account of the customer.
• It is also vehicle specific and once it is affixed to a vehicle, it cannot be transferred to another vehicle.
• FASTag can be purchased from any of the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) Member Banks.
• If a FASTag is linked to the prepaid account, then it needs to be recharged/ topped-up as per the usage of the customer.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Statement 1 is correct: 

• Poppy straw – It is the husk left after the opium is extracted from the pods which also contains very small morphine content.
• India is one of the few countries that legally cultivate opium poppy and is the only country on earth that illicitly produces opium gum.
• Farmers sell the poppy straw to those licensed by the State Governments to purchase poppy straw and any excess poppy straw is ploughed back into the field

Statement 2 is correct:

• Drug – It is one of the narcotic drugs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS).
• Legal regulation – Possession, sale, use, etc. are regulated by the State Governments under the State NDPS Rules.
• Violation – Anyone possessing, selling, purchasing or using it without a license or in violation of any conditions of the license is liable to prosecution under the NDPS Act.
• Control operations – In 2023, record high anti-narcotics operations were undertaken.
• Under Operation Prahaar in 2023, 10,326 hectares of illicit opium field was destroyed in Arunachal and Manipur.

Statement 1 is Incorrect:
It is the statutory committee constituted under the “Rules for the Manufacture, Use/Import/Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells (Rules, 1989)” framed under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

Statement 2 is correct: It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
Composition:

• GEAC is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and co-chaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
• Presently, it has 24 members and meets every month to review the applications in the areas indicated above.
• The members comprise experts from other ministries as well as institutions such as the ICAR, ICMR, CCMB, and so on.

Statement 2 is correct: 
Functions: 

• It is responsible for the approval of activities involving large-scale use of hazardous living microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from an environmental perspective.
• The committee is also responsible for the appraisal of proposals relating to the release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment, including experimental field trials.
• Clearance of GEAC is mandatory for the environmental release of GM crops.

The External Affairs Minister recently announced that the Government of India has decided to include Farsi (Persian) as one of the nine classical languages in India under the New Education Policy.

About Farsi:

• Farsi, also known as Persian Language, is the most widely spoken member of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, a subfamily of the Indo-European languages. 
• It is the official language of Iran, and two varieties of Persian known as Dari and Tajik are official languages in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, respectively.
• Significant populations of Farsi speakers can be found in other Persian Gulf countries (Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates), as well as large communities in the US.
• It has about 62 million native speakers, ranking it among the world’s 20 most widely spoken first languages.
• Farsi in Iran is written in a variety of the Arabic script called Perso-Arabic, which has some innovations to account for Persian phonological differences. This script came into use in Persia after the Islamic conquest in the seventh century.
• Its relatives are the languages of northern India and, more distantly, the major European languages including English.

Hence both statements are correct.

Statement Analysis

Statement 1 is Incorrect:

• Astra is a beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile designed to be mounted on fighter aircraft.
• The missile is designed to engage and destroy highly manoeuvring supersonic aircraft.
• It is the best in its class of weapon systems in the world in the category of air-to-air missiles.
• The missile is being developed in multiple variants to meet specific requirements.
• The ASTRA Mk-I Weapon System, integrated with SU-30 Mk-I aircraft, is being inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF)

Statement 2 is correct:

It is indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Features of ASTRA Mk-I:

• It has a range of 80 to 110 km in a head-on chase and can travel at 4.5 Mach speed (almost hypersonic).
• The missile also has a locally developed Ku-band active radar guidance system and a 15-kg warhead.
• It offers the pilot the option to choose between “Lock on Before Launch – LOBL” and “Lock on After Launch – LOAL” and later allows the aircraft to shoot and scoot to safety after firing the missile in the direction of the target.
• It is based on advanced solid-fuel ducted ramjet (SFDR) engine technology.
• It is capable of operating under all weather conditions, both day and night, and offers high overall reliability and a very high ”Single Shot Kill Probability – SSKP”.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has served notices to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments, based on a report by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) that has highlighted the massive reduction of green cover in the Cauvery basin over the past five decades. 

• It extends over states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry.
• It is bounded by the Western Ghats on the west, by the Eastern Ghats on the east and the south and by the ridges separating it from Krishna basin and Pennar basin on the north.
• The Cauvery River is one of the major rivers of the peninsula.
• Origin: It rises at an elevation of 1,341 m at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri range near Cherangala village of Kodagu district of Karnataka. 
• The river drains into the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar in the Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu.
• Major left bank tributaries: Harangi, the Hemavati, the Shimsha and the Arkavati.
• Major right bank tributaries: Lakshmantirtha, the Kabbani, the Suvarnavati, the Bhavani, the Noyil and the Amaravati
• The basin can be divided into three parts – the Westen Ghats, the Plateau of Mysore and the Delta.
• The delta area is the most fertile tract in the basin.
• The principal soil types found in the basin are black soils, red soils, laterites, alluvial soils, forest soils and mixed soils. Red soils occupy large areas in the basin. Alluvial soils are found in the delta areas.
• National Parks in this basin: Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National Park and the Bannerghatta National Park.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Scientists are finding that the gut microbiota may be linked to heart health, some cancers, and even the colour of urine.

About Gut Microbiota:

• The human gut microbiota refers to the trillions of microbes, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, that live in the human gut.
• Previously, people referred to the gut microbiota as the microflora of the gut.
• The gut microbiome is the environment they live in.
• Establishment of the human gut microbiota:
• Infants inherit their first gut microbes during vaginal delivery or breastfeeding (chestfeeding). 
• Later, your diet and other environmental exposures introduce new microbes to your biome.
• The gut microbiota assists in a range of bodily functions, including:
• harvesting energy from digested food
• protecting against pathogens
• regulating immune function
• strengthening the biochemical barriers of the gut and intestine
• Changes in microbiota composition can affect these functions.
• Disease:
• While there are beneficial bacteria in the gut, there are also harmful bacteria that can enter the Gastrointestinal (GI) tract and cause infection.
• These infections include food poisoning and other GI diseases that result in diarrhea and vomiting.
• Research suggests that bacterial populations in the GI system play a role in developing gut conditions, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Low microbial diversity in the gut also has links to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
• The status of the gut microbiota also has links to metabolic syndrome.
• Disturbing the microbiota with antibiotics can also lead to disease, including infections that become resistant to antibiotics.

Hence both statements are correct.

• The project aims to enhance research collaboration in India by improving accessibility to facilities and labs.
• The platform allows researchers and industries to connect with institutions that have the required equipment, enabling them to rent it for experiments.
• The initiative aims to save capital expenditure for researchers, industries, and startups and prevent duplication of resources at the national level.
• The Indian Science, Technology, and Engineering Facilities Map (I-STEM) is a national web portal that helps researchers find the facilities they need for their R&D work. The portal also aims to connect resources to researchers.

Statement 1 is incorrect:

• Built in – 1792, with the efforts of one Sardar Rangarao Odhekar.
• Name – It derives its name from a black statue of the Lord Kala Ram translates literally to “Black Ram.”

Statement 2 is correct

• Location – On the banks of the River Godavari in the Panchavati area of the Nashik in Maharashtra.
• Features – It has 14 steps, which represent the 14 years of Ram’s exile and has 84 pillars, which represents the cycle of 84 lakh species that one must complete to be born as a human.
• Sanctum sanctorum – Statues of Ram, Sita, and Lakshman, and a black idol of Hanuman at the main entrance.

Statement 3 is correct

• Historical importance – It is also the site of a landmark agitation led by Babasaheb Ambedkar demanding temple entry rights for Dalits more than 90 years ago.
• Nashik Satyagraha in 1930
• Lead by – B R Ambedkar along with the Marathi teacher and social activist Pandurang Sadashiv Sane, known as Sane Guruji.
• Aim – To demand access for Dalits to Hindu temples.