Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 3, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently one archaeologist from USA criticized Adopt a Heritage Scheme of India.

About Adopt a Heritage Scheme:

• The “Adopt a Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan” scheme was launched in 2017 on World Tourism Day
• It is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, Archaeological Survey of India.
• The project aims to encourage companies from public sector, private sector, corporate citizens, NGOs, individuals and other stakeholders to become ‘Monument Mitras’.
• They will take up the responsibility of developing and upgrading the basic and advanced tourist amenities at these sites as per their interest and viability in terms of a sustainable investment model under CSR.
• The Monument Mitras are selected by the ‘oversight and vision committee,’ co-chaired by the Tourism Secretary and the Culture Secretary.
• The oversight committee also has the power to terminate a memorandum of understanding in case of non-compliance or non-performance.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

ISRO recently conducted a flight test of cryogenic engine for the Chandrayan-3 mission.

About CE-20 cryogenic engine:

• It has been designed and developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) , a subsidiary of ISRO.
• It will power the Cryogenic Upper Stage of the LVM3 launch vehicle for the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
• It is the first Indian cryogenic engine to feature a gas-generator cycle.
• It is one of the most powerful upper-stage cryogenic engines in the world.
• This engine develops a nominal thrust of 186.36 kN in vacuum.

What is a Cryogenic stage?

• The cryogenic stage is technically a very complex system due to its use of propellants at extremely low temperatures and the associated thermal and structural problems.
• It uses liquid fuels that are cooled to very low temperatures.
• A Cryogenic rocket stage is more efficient and provides more thrust for every kilogram of propellant it burns compared to solid and earth-storable liquid propellant rocket stages.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

• Chandrayaan-3 is India’s third moon mission and is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.
• Chandrayaan-3 mission has three major modules — the Propulsion module, Lander module, and Rover.
• The mission is slated to be launched later this year by Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LMV3) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology recently launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) portal under the IT Rules, 2021.

About Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC):

• The GAC was one of the provisions in the recently amended Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
• GAC will look into user complaints regarding unsatisfactory grievance redressal by social media intermediaries.
• Three such bodies have been constituted of professionals from various fields.
• Each GAC will comprise three government-appointed, full-time members, including a chairperson.
• Any user aggrieved by a decision of a platform's Grievance Officer can appeal to the GAC within 30 days of the receipt of communication from the Grievance Officer.
• The Committee has to dispose of the appeals within 15 days of receiving them.
• GAC’s decisions will be binding on the intermediary.

GAC portal:

• The GAC will be a virtual Digital platform that will operate only online and digitally — wherein the entire appeal process, from the filing of the appeal to the decision thereof, shall be conducted digitally through the new portal https://gac.gov.in.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Supreme Court recently said that legislators facing disqualification under the anti-defection law cannot participate in the floor test.

About Anti-defection law :

• It was introduced in India in 1985 through the 52nd amendment to the Constitution of India.
• This amendment added the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, which lists out the provisions related to defection.
• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
• This schedule applies to both Central and State legislature.
• Grounds of disqualification: A member of any state or central legislature can be disqualified from being a member if,
• He voluntarily gives up his membership of a political party.
• He disobeys the directions of his political party or votes or does not vote in the legislature contrary to the directions of his political party.
• After the election, he joins another political party.
• If a nominated member joins any political party after 6 months from the day, he becomes a member of the legislature.

Exemptions:

• Disqualification of a member is not applied in case of a merger, provided that this merger with or into another party shall be done with the consent of at least two-thirds of its legislators. In such a scenario, neither the members who decide to merge nor the ones who stay with the original party will face disqualification.
• It exempts the speaker, chairman, and deputy chairman of various legislative houses from disqualification on the ground of defection.

Deciding authority:

• The decision to disqualify a member under the anti-defection law is taken by the presiding officer of the house. ( Speaker or Chairman accordingly).
• The law does not specify a time period for the Presiding Officer to decide on a disqualification plea.
• The decisions of the Speaker or Chairman in anti-defection cases are subject to judicial review.
• However, there can not be any judicial intervention until the Presiding Officer gives his order.

Hence both statements are not correct.

A group of 16 countries led by Vanuatu - an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, recently launched an effort to fight the problem of climate change at the United Nations (UN), and the group seeks an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the issue of climate change.

About the International Court of Justice (ICJ):

• The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the principal judicial organ of the UN.
• It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
• The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
• Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York, United States.
• The hearings of the ICJ are always public.
• French and English are the official languages of the Court.
• Powers and Functions:
• The Court may entertain two types of cases: legal disputes between States submitted to it by them (contentious cases) and requests for advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by United Nations organs and specialized agencies (advisory proceedings).
• Only States (which are members of the United Nations and other States which have become parties to the Statute of the Court or which have accepted its jurisdiction under certain conditions) may be parties to contentious cases.
• Advisory proceedings before the Court are only open to five organs of the United Nations and 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations family or affiliated organizations.
• The court's judgments in contentious cases are final and binding on the parties to a case and without appeal.
• Unlike the Court’s judgments, advisory opinions are not binding.
• Composition:
• The Court is composed of 15 judges, all from different countries, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Security Council (UNSC).
• To be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both UNGA and UNSC. 
• One-third of the composition of the Court is renewed every three years. 
• Judges are eligible for re-election.  
• Once elected, a member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of any other State.
• Members of the Court act as independent judges.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Press Council of India (PCI) recently issued an advisory to the print media on ‘paid news’.

About the Press Council of India (PCI):

• The PCI was first set up in 1966 by the parliament on the recommendations of the First Press Commission under the chairmanship of Justice J.R Mudholkar.
• The present council functions under the Press Council Act 1978.
• It is a statutory, quasi-judicial body that acts as a watchdog of the press in India.
• Composition:
• It consists of a Chairman and 28 other members.
• The Chairman is nominated by a committee consisting of Chairman of Rajya Sabha, the Speaker of Lok Sabha, and one representative of the council member.
• The Chairman, by convention, has been a retired judge of the Supreme Court.
• The term of the Chairman and the members of the Council is 3 years.
• Primary Function: To check the media practice and to keep an eye on the freedom of the press.
• Powers:
• It adjudicates the complaints either against the Press for violation of journalistic ethics or by the Press for interference with its freedom.
• The council shall have the same powers throughout India as are vested in a Civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
• Every inquiry held by the council shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding under sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code.
• The decision of the council is final and can not be challenged in any court of law.

Hence both statements are correct.

Scientists have recently found a previously undiscovered moai statue on Easter Island.

About Moai statues:

• They are massive megalithic stone-carved human-shaped statues found at Easter Island.
• They are famous for their carved heads and "Pukao," a hat-like covering made from a soft red stone.
• They were built in approximately 1400 - 1650 A.D. by the natives of this island known as Rapa Nui.
• There are around 1000 Moai statues which are made up of volcanic tuff, the tallest of them being 33 feet.
• On average, they weigh between 3 to 5 tons, but the heaviest ones can weigh up to 80.
• The tools used for carving the moai statues are called toki, and are simple handheld chisels. 
• What do moais represent?
• They were built to honor chieftains or other important people who had passed away.
• They were placed on rectangular stone platforms called ahu, which are tombs for the people that the statues represented.
• The moais were intentionally made with different characteristics since they were intended to keep the appearance of the person they represented.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, a function was held to commemorate the success of “SWAYATT”, an initiative that was first launched in February 2019.

• GeM is an Online Market platform that was set up in 2016 to facilitate the procurement of goods and services by government ministries, departments, public sector undertakings (PSU) etc.
• It has been envisaged as the National Procurement Portal of India.
• This portal was developed by the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) with technical support from the National e-governance Division (Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology).
• GeM is a completely paperless, cashless and system-driven e-marketplace that enables procurement of common-use goods and services with minimal human interface.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Central government of India suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR).

• The FCRA requires every person or NGO seeking to receive foreign donations to be
  • Registered under the Act.
  • To open a bank account for the receipt of foreign funds in the State Bank of India, Delhi.
  • To utilise those funds only for the purpose for which they have been received and as stipulated in the Act.
• These registrations are granted to individuals or associations that have definite cultural, economic, educational, religious, and social programmes.
• Once granted, FCRA registration is valid for five years. NGOs are expected to apply for renewal within six months of the date of expiry of registration.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, as part of the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), a comprehensive Integrated Landscape Management Plan (ILMP) has been prepared for the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity in the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) & surrounding areas.

• Panna Tiger Reserve is a critical tiger habitat located in Vindhya Hill in northern Madhya Pradesh.
• The dominating vegetation type is dry deciduous forest inter-spread with grassland areas.
• In the north, it is surrounded by teak forest & in the east, it is surrounded by Teak-Kardhai mixed forest.
• The North East-South West, running Vindhya Hill ranges link the eastern and western populations of wild animals.

Hence both statements are correct.