Daily Current Affairs MCQ- November 18, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar recently addressed the East Asia Summit.

• Beginning in 2005, 16 participating countries comprised this grouping, with their first meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• These members were the 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea.
• ASEAN’s 10 member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• The United States and the Russian Federation joined at the 6th East Asia Summit in 2011.
• The EAS is an ASEAN initiative and refers to the annual Meeting of Heads of States/Governments of these countries, where they are able to discuss common concerns and interests.
• Its creation was based on the idea of enhancing cooperation among East Asian countries and those in the neighbouring regions.

Priority areas of cooperation:

• Six priority areas of cooperation were identified – environment and energy, education, finance, global health issues and pandemic diseases, natural disaster management, and ASEAN Connectivity.
• In the past, the issues of claims over the South China Sea, the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea, terrorism, the actions of North Korea and the conflict situation in Myanmar have been discussed by the countries.

EAS’s links with India:

• This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.
• Vice President recently announced an additional contribution of USD 5 million to the ASEAN-India science and technology fund to enhance cooperation in sectors of public health, renewable energy and smart agriculture.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

According to the World Bank, India would need to invest $840 billion over the next 15 years, that is, an average of $55 billion each year, to meet the demands of its fast-growing urban population.

• Its latest report, titled ‘Financing India’s Urban Infrastructure Needs: Constraints to Commercial Financing and Prospects for Policy Action’, puts forth the urgent requirement to leverage greater private and commercial investments to meet the emerging financial gaps.

Highlights:

• Financing on a repayable basis can be done either through debt, private lending or public-private partnership investments.
• These require a recurrent source of revenue to meet obligations, thus, mandating raising adequate resources.
• Much of the urban infrastructure in India is financed by tied intergovernmental fiscal transfers, that is, vertical and horizontal transfer of finance for attaining certain objectives sub-nationally.
• Of the finances needed to fund capital expenditures for Indian cities, 48% is derived from State governments, 24% from the Central government and 15% from urban local bodies’ own surplus.
• The rest includes public-private partnership (3%), commercial debt (2%) and loans from Housing and Urban Development Corporation, or HUDCO (8%).
• The report argues that the overall funding base to raise commercial revenues “appears to be low” owing to weak fiscal performance of cities and low absorptive capacity for execution of projects.
• The report states that city agencies have been unable to expand their resource and funding base to support private financing for services such as water supply, sewerage networks and bus services, as they are highly subsidised.

Solutions:

• The central idea is to increase cities’ fiscal base and creditworthiness.
• For improving their fiscal base, it states, cities must institute a buoyant revenue base and be able to recover the cost of providing its services.
• The latter could be attained by revising property taxes, user fees and service charges, among other streams, from the current low base.

Hence both statements are correct.

As the global population reached eight billion, the United Nations recently said that India’s population growth appeared to be stabilising, which shows that the country’s national policies and health systems, including access to family planning services, are working.

• The world population touched eight billion on November 15, 2022 and India was the largest contributor to the milestone, having added 177 million people of the last billion people born in the world.
• The UN population report said the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 per cent in 2020.
• The world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. It is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100.

India:

• India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, “with prospects to reap the demographic dividend as the median age of an Indian this year was 28.7 years, compared to 38.4 for China and 48.6 for Japan against a global value of 30.3 years,”.
• The population prospects report had said that India’s population stands at 1.412 billion in 2022, compared to China’s 1.426 billion.
• India is projected to have a population of 1.668 billion in 2050, way ahead of China’s 1.317 billion people by the middle of the century.
• According to UNFPA estimates, 68 per cent of India’s population is between 15-64 years old in 2022, while people aged 65 and above comprise seven per cent of the population.
• As per UN estimates, over 27 per cent of the country’s population is between the ages of 15-29. At 253 million, India is also home to the world’s largest adolescent population (10-19 years).
• UNFPA has noted that India has its largest ever adolescent and youth population. According to UNFPA projections, India will continue to have one of the youngest populations in the world till 2030 and is currently experiencing a demographic window of opportunity, a “youth bulge” that will last till 2025.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently organized a Conference on "Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity".

• In the year 2022, TRAI has also completed 25-years of its existence. The Conference is organized as a part its year-long silver Jubilee celebration.
• What is TRAI?
  • It is a regulatory body set up by the Government of India under section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.
  • It is the regulator of the telecommunications sector in India. It consists of a Chairperson and not more than two full-time members and not more than two part-time members.
• The TRAI Act was amended in 2000, establishing a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT)

• It was set up to adjudicate any dispute between a licensor and a licensee, between two or more service providers, between a service provider and a group of consumers, and to hear and dispose of appeals against any direction, decision or order of TRAI.
• Composition: The Tribunal consists of a Chairperson and two Members appointed by the Central Government.
  • The Chairperson should be or should have been a Judge of the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of a High Court.
  • A Member should have held the post of Secretary to the Government of India or any equivalent post in the Central Government or the State Government for a period of not less than two years or a person who is well versed in the field of technology, telecommunication, industry, commerce or administration.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, to give promotion of rail based tourism through provision of better quality coaches and viable tour packages, the Bharat Gaurav Trains Scheme has been reviewed.

• In November 2021 the Indian Railways allowed private players to run theme-based Bharat Gaurav trains to showcase India’s rich cultural heritage and historical places to the people of India, and from abroad.
• How does it work?
  • Any operator can lease trains from the Railways to run on a theme-based circuit as a special tourism package. The operator has the freedom to decide the route, the halts, the services provided and, most importantly, the tariff.
  • The service provider can take custody of the trains for a minimum period of two years and a maximum period of up to the residual life of the coaches.

Salient Features of Revised Policy:

• Henceforth, only Linke Hofmann Busch ( LHB) coaches will be allotted under the Bharat Gaurav Trains scheme.
• Ministry of Railways has decided not to levy the overhead components in the Fixed and Variable Haulage Charges for operation of Bharat Gaurav Trains under the scheme.
• The existing service providers, who have already been allotted ICF rakes would be given option to switch over to LHB rakes for the remaining period of agreement on the revised charges. However, if they opt to continue with already allotted rakes, benefit of revised charges would be available with prospective effect.

Hence both statements are correct.

ISRO is set to launch India’s first privately built rocket (Vikram-suborbital (VKS) rocket) from Sriharikota.

• VKS rocket is developed by the non-government entity/startup, Skyroot Aerospace Pvt Ltd (SAPL).
• Apart from being the nation’s first private launch, it will also be the maiden mission of Skyroot Aerospace, named ‘Prarambh’. It will carry a total of three payloads in space, including one from the foreign customers.

VKS rocket

• It is a single stage spin stabilized solid propellant rocket with mass of approx. 550 kilograms.
• The rocket goes to the max altitude of 101 kilometers and splashes into the sea and the overall duration of launch is 300 seconds only.
• Skyroot was the first startup to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with ISRO for launching its rockets.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the Ministry of Textiles in partnership with Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA) organized a full-day event “National Conclave on Technical Textiles – Protech”

What are Technical Textiles?

• Technical Textiles are textile products which are manufactured primarily for their functionality and use rather than the aesthetic appeal.
• These products are broadly classified into 12 different categories- Agrotech, Oekotech, Buildtech, Meditech, Geotech, Clothtech, Mobiltech, Hometech, Sportstech,Indutech, Protech, Packtech.

Technical Textiles Mission in India

• The Ministry of Textiles has launched NTTM to increase the penetration level of technical textiles in India while leveraging the extraordinary growth rate of the sector.
  • The Indian Technical Textiles Sector has an Annual Average Growth Rate (AAGR) of 12% which is three times the world average of 4%.
• The aim of the mission is to position India as a global leader in Technical Textiles.
• The mission will comprise of the following four components:
  • Research, Innovation and Development
  • Promotion and Market Development
  • Export Promotion
  • Education, Training, Skill Development
• Implementation: The NTTM has been approved with an implementation period of four years starting from FY 2020-21 till FY 2023-24. The total outlay of the mission is INR 1480 Cr.
• Target: The Mission has a target to take domestic market size of technical textile sector to $ 40-50 Bn by the year 2024 with an average growth rate of 15-20% per annum.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has recently launched the fourth phase of Digital Shakti Campaign.

• Digital Shakti started in June 2018 to help women across the nation to raise the awareness level on the digital front, to build resilience, and fight cyber-crime in the most effective ways.
• The Digital Shakti 4.0 is focused on making women digitally skilled and aware to stand-up against any illegal/inappropriate activity online.
• NCW launched the campaign in collaboration with CyberPeace Foundation and Meta.
• Through this project, over 3 Lakh women across India have been made aware of cyber safety tips and tricks.
• It is helping women in reporting & redressal mechanisms, data privacy and usage of technology for their benefits.

Hence both statements are correct.

According to Uttar Pradesh Government, Dolphins have started coming back to the Ganga river with improvement in the quality of its water through the Namami Gange programme.

• The Gangetic Dolphin is a fresh-water species, and one of the few river dolphins found in the world.
• It inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
• Common Names: Blind dolphin, Ganges dolphin, Ganges susu, hihu, side-swimming dolphin, South Asian River Dolphin
• Scientific name: Platanista gangetica
• The Gangetic Dolphin has been recognized as India's National Aquatic Animal and is the official animal of the Indian city of Guwahati.

Description:

• A long thin snout, rounded belly, stocky body and large flippers are characteristics of the Ganges River dolphin.
• It feeds majorly on fishes and is are usually found in counter current systems of the main river channel.
• Its eyes lack lens, and as a result, this species is also referred to as the "blind dolphin".
• They have a highly developed bio sonar system that facilitates them to hunt for fish even in murky waters.
• Being a mammal, the Ganges River dolphin cannot breathe in the water and must surface every 30-120 seconds. Because of the sound it produces when breathing, the animal is popularly referred to as the 'Susu'.

Conservation status:

• The population of the Ganges dolphin is estimated to be a few hundred.
• IUCN Status: Endangered
• It is placed in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act
• It is  listed on CITES Appendix I, which lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently the Supreme Court has voiced concerns over the increasing use of DNA to prove cases.

• Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is a set of instructions found in a cell.
• These instructions are used for the growth and development of an organism.
• The DNA of a person is unique, and variation in the sequence of DNA can be used to match individuals and identify them.
• DNA technology, therefore allows for accurate establishment of an individual’s identity.
• In addition, DNA-based technology helps in identification of victims in the event of terrorist attacks or natural disasters such as earthquakes.
  • For example, DNA technology has been used to identify victims of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001, and disasters such as the Asian tsunami in 2004.
• Further, DNA profiling can be used in civil matters, such as parentage related disputes.

Precedents set by court:

• Bhabani Prasad Jena, 2010 & Banarsi Dass, 2005: Precedents set by the Supreme Court through the years show that judges cannot order genetic tests as a “roving enquiry” ( Bhabani Prasad Jena, 2010) and they must balance “the interests of the parties” ( Banarsi Dass, 2005).
• DNA tests should also not be ordered if there was other material evidence at hand to prove the case.
• Ashok Kumar v. Raj Gupta 2021: The court said judges, before ordering a genetic test, should examine “proportionality of the legitimate aims” being pursued.

Hence both statements are correct.