Daily Current Affairs MCQ- June 22, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Astronomers have recently made the most detailed map ever of mysterious dark matter using the universe’s very first light

About Dark Matter:

• What is it? Dark matter is a hypothetical invisible mass thought to be responsible for adding gravity to galaxies and other bodies.
• How much is dark matter?
• According to NASA, Dark matter seems to outweigh visible matter roughly six to one, making up about 27% of the universe.
• Roughly 68% of the universe is dark energy. Dark matter makes up about 27%. The rest visible matter is 5% of the universe.
• Why called dark matter? It is called so because unlike normal matter (i.e. stars and galaxies), dark matter does not interact with the electromagnetic force.
• Detection: As it does not interact with the electromagnetic force, thus it does not absorb, reflect or emit light or electromagnetic radiation of any kind. And this makes it extremely hard to spot/detect. It can be detected only through its gravitational effects.
• Importance: Its gravitational force prevents stars in our Milky Way from flying apart.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

In 56th session of UN's Commission on Population and Development,held at New York, deputy Secretary-General warned that the goal of achieving quality education for all by 2030 is "seriously off track".

About UN Commission on Population and Development:

• A Population Commission was established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1946,which was renamed as the Commission on Population and Development by the General Assembly in 1994.
• The Commission is composed of 47 Member countries.
• Member countries are elected by the Economic and Social Council for a period of four years on the basis of geographic distribution.
• Commission was constituted as three-tiered intergovernmental mechanism that plays the primary role in the follow-up to the implementation of the programme of Action.

The meetings of commission was held typically every two or three years until 1994, after which it has been held once a year.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Central Government has recently notified the National Credit Framework (NCrF) to integrate the learning at multiple axis.

About National Credit Framework:

• It is an umbrella framework for skilling, re-skilling, up-skilling, accreditation & evaluation encompassing our people in educational & skilling institutions and workforce.
• The framework was developed by a high-level committee, including members from the UGC, AICTE, National Council for Vocational Education and Training, NCERT, CBSE and other educational departments.

How will Credit Framework work?

• Every academic assessment right from elementary school level to higher education as well as for vocational training and skill development courses acquired can be creditised and accumulated in the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC).
• As per the framework, even experiential learning including relevant experiences and proficiency/ professional levels and online, digital and blended learning will be creditised.
• Nothing is left unmeasured, as outside of classroom learning, sports and games, yoga, physical activities, performing arts, handicrafts, bag less days will also be part of it.
• The framework has divided the learning ecosystem into eight level, assigning credits based on learning hours and assessments from Class 5 all the way up to PhD level.
• Till Class 12, each subject is assigned 240 hours for self- -study at the school level.
• Vocational education and skill training from level 1 to 8 are also part of the framework.
• As per this system the final certificate/ degree will be awarded post the accumulation of the required number of and types of courses and the associated credits.
• At any point of time, the overall credit points accumulated by a student shall be calculated as ‘total credit points earned’ multiplied by the ‘weightage assigned to the relevant experience acquired by the student’.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, The Income Tax Department has notified the Cost Inflation Index for the current fiscal beginning April 2023.

About Cost Inflation Index (CII):

• CII number is used to adjust the purchase price of assets on the basis of inflation.
• The CII number helps an individual to ascertain the inflation-adjusted current price of an asset.
• This helps in calculating capital gains from a transfer or sale of capital assets after taking inflation into account.
• Capital gain refers to the profit acquired from the sale/transfer of any capital assets, including land, property, stocks, shares, trademarks, patents, etc. 
• It helps taxpayers offset the impact of inflation as the difference between the purchase and sale price could be substantial due to rising prices.
• The application of the Cost Inflation Index for capital gain adjusts the purchase price of assets based on their sale price, resulting in smaller earnings and a lower tax amount.
• Till FY 2022-23 (ended on March 31, 2023), the CII number was used to calculate the long-term capital gains from non-equity mutual fund schemes. 
• But from FY 2023-24, the indexation benefit on long-term capital gains from non-equity mutual fund schemes has been removed.
• A taxpayer will continue to use the CII number to calculate long-term capital gains from house property, land, and building in the event of a sale.
• What is the formula to calculate inflation-adjusted purchase price?
• CII number is used to calculate the inflation-adjusted price of a long-term asset. To calculate the inflation-adjusted price, the CII is used in the following manner,
• Inflation-adjusted price = (CII of the sale year/CII of the purchase year) * Actual price of the asset.

Hence both statements are correct.

South Western Railway (SWR) is all set to revamp two railway stations, Krishnarajapuram and Whitefield stations under Amrit Bharat Station scheme.

About Amrit Bharat Station Scheme:

• It envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long term vision.
• It is based on Master Planning for long term and implementation of the elements of Master Plan as per the needs and patronage of the station.
• Broad Objectives:
• Implementation of the Master Plan in phases to enhance the facilities including and beyond the Minimum Essential Amenities (MEA) and aiming for creation of Roof Plazas and city centres at the station in long run.
• The scheme shall aim to meet the needs of the stakeholders, station usage studies as far as possible based on availability of funds and inter-se priority.
• The scheme shall cater for introduction of new amenities as well as upgradation and replacement of existing amenities.
• It will also cover the stations where detailed techno-economic feasibility studies have been conducted or are being conducted but the work for construction of Roof Plazas has not been taken up yet, ensuring the phasing of Master Plan being suitably implemented.
• Attempts shall be made to club different grades/types of waiting halls and provide good cafeteria/retail facilities as far as possible
• High level platforms(760-840 mill meter) shall be provided at all categories of stations.
• Station approaches shall be improved to ensure smooth access by widening of roads, removal of unwanted structures, properly designed signages, dedicated pedestrian pathways, well planned parking areas, improved lighting etc.
• Amenities for Divyangjan at stations shall be as per guidelines issued by Railway Board from time to time.

Hence only statement 1 correct.

Recently, four states raised Rs 5,800 crore through state development loans (SDL) auction — about one-fourth of the amount 15 state governments intended to raise in the upcoming days.

• These are dated securities issued by states for meeting their market borrowings requirements.
• Purpose: To meet the budgetary needs of state governments.
• The higher the fiscal strength of a state, the lower will be the interest rate (yield) it has to pay for the SDL borrowings.
• These are securities and they are auctioned by the RBI through the e-Kuber which is a dedicated electronic auction system for government securities and other instruments.
• Reserve Bank of India holds SDL auctions once a fortnight.
• The rate of interest or yield of SDL securities is determined through auction.
• The interest rate will be slightly higher than that of Central Government securities (G-secs) of matching tenure.
• The investors in SDL are basically commercial banks, mutual funds, and insurance companies that are attracted by the slightly higher interest

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has envisaged a special project called ‘The Language Friendship Bridge’ to expand India’s cultural footprint in nations with whom it has historical ties.

• Under this project, India is planning to create a pool of experts in languages spoken in countries like Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and Indonesia to facilitate better people-to-people exchanges.
• It plans to train five to 10 people in the official languages of each of these countries.
• As of now, the ICCR has zeroed in on 10 languages: Kazakh, Uzbek, Bhutanese, Ghoti (spoken in Tibet), Burmese, Khmer (spoken in Cambodia), Thai, Sinhalese and Bahasa (spoken in both Indonesia and Malaysia).
• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
• Objectives
  • To actively participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes pertaining to India’s external cultural relations.
  • To foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries
  • To promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people, and to develop relations with nations.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India will now be able to induct members from regulators as well as sectoral experts in its secretarial and auditing standards board after recent amendments by the government.

• It is the only recognized professional body in India to develop and regulate the profession of Company Secretaries in India.
• It is a premier national professional body set up under an act of Parliament, the Company Secretaries Act, 1980.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.
• The Institute provides top-quality education to the students of Company Secretaries (CS) Course and best quality set standards to CS Members.
• At present, there are more than 65,000 members and around 2.5 Lakh students in the role of ICSI.
• Headquarters: New Delhi and has four Regional Offices in New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai and 72 Chapters across India.
• ICSI has been contributing to the initiatives of the Government of India that have the potential to excel in the social-economic growth of India.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, NSE Indices Ltd, a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), launched India’s first-ever Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) Index.

• The new index aims to track the performance of REITs and InvITs that are publicly listed and traded on the NSE.
• Base year: 1 July 2019.
• The NSE Indices Ltd, a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), launched this Index.
• The index will be reviewed and rebalanced every quarter.
• The weights of securities within the index are based on their free-float market capitalization, subject to a security cap of 33% each and the aggregate weight of top-3 securities is capped at 72%.
• The top constituents of the Nifty Reits & InvITs index include Embassy Office Parks Reit, Powergrid Infrastructure Investment etc.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

A two-member delegation from International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) recently visited Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to deliberate on emerging research areas for rice cultivation in Punjab and other parts of the world.

About International Rice Research Institute (IRRI):

• IRRI is an independent, nonprofit, research and educational institute, founded in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations with support from the Philippine government.
• It is the world’s premier research organization dedicated to reducing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition through rice science.
• It aims to improve the health and welfare of those who depend on rice-based agri-food systems, and promote and protect the environmental sustainability of rice farming for future generations.
• Headquarters: Los Baños, Philippines.
• It has offices in 17 rice-growing countries in Asia and Africa, and more than 1,000 staff. 
• IRRI’s work is supported by a diverse network of investors aligned to common goals.
• IRRI's research for development is characterized by its collaborative nature: from alliances with advanced research institutes; through strong collaborations and capacity development with governments and national agricultural research and extension systems.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.