Daily Current Affairs MCQ- November 2, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Department of Youth Affairs of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (Government of India) will launch a month-long nationwide Clean India 2.0 from 1st -31st October, 2022 after the successful campaign of last year.

• The programme is being organised in all the villages across the country through the network of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), affiliated Youth Clubs & National Service Scheme Affiliated Institutions.
• This month-long nationwide programme will be launched to collect waste material mainly single-use plastic and create awareness among people.
• One crore kilogram of waste material including plastic and e-waste will be collected and disposed off with the support and voluntary participation of citizens.
• Hotspots for waste collection will be Tourist Places, Educational Institutes, Bus Stand/Railway Stations and the vicinity, National Highways, Historical and heritage buildings, religious places & surroundings, Hospitals and Water Resource etc.

Hence both statements are correct.

India and the Netherlands have signed a joint statement to formalize the bilateral Fast-Track Mechanism between the two countries.

• The Joint statement aims to facilitate a platform for the Dutch companies operating in India, for faster resolution of investment cases.
• It is expected that the mechanism will strengthen and assist bilateral efforts to increase mutual investment activities, and also support and develop business cooperation between companies in both countries.
• Commerce and Industry Ministry said, the Netherlands is the fourth largest foreign direct investor in India. The cumulative flow of FDI from the Netherlands to India reached around 42.3 billion US dollars between April 2000 and June 2022.

Hence both statements are correct.

In a significant step towards ensuring long-term fertiliser availability for the farming community, India’s fertiliser companies- Coromandel International, Chambal Fertilizers and Indian Potash Limited signed an MoU with Canpotex, Canada on 27th September 2022.

• Potash, which is source of Potassium, is used both for direct application as MOP as well as in combination with ‘N’ & ‘P’ nutrients in NPK fertilizers.
• India meets 100% of its Potash requirement through imports. The country imports approximately 40 LMT MOP annually.
• Canpotex is a joint venture between leading fertiliser players, Mosaic and Nutrien, and markets Potash being produced at Saskatchewan region in Canada.
• It is amongst the largest suppliers of Potash globally, exporting around 130 LMT of product annually to more than 40 countries and has been one of the suppliers to India.

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has said that India is the first country with a cooling action plan based on energy efficiency and thermal comfort. He stated this while addressing the Ministerial Roundtable for Green Economy at the World Green Economy Summit at the World Trade Center in Dubai.

The India Cooling Action seeks to:

• reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by 2037-38,
• reduce refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by 2037-38,
• Reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by 2037-38,
• recognize “cooling and related areas” as a thrust area of research under national S&T Programme,
• training and certification of 100,000 servicing sector technicians by 2022-23, synergizing with Skill India Mission.

The following benefits would accrue to the society over and above the environmental benefits:

• Thermal comfort for all – provision for cooling for EWS and LIG housing,
• Sustainable cooling – low GHG emissions related to cooling,
• Doubling Farmers Income – better cold chain infrastructure – better value of produce to farmers, less wastage of produce,
• Robust R&D on alternative cooling technologies – to provide push to innovation in cooling sector.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

The Union Cabinet approved the Indian Railways’ ₹10,000 crore proposal for the redevelopment of three major stations — New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).

• With the redevelopment, expected to be completed in 2.5 to 3.5 years, passengers will be able to enjoy facilities such as food court, waiting lounge, playing area for children, place to shop local products, proper illumination and lifts/escalators/travelators, among other facilities.
• The stations, which will make use of green building techniques with solar energy, water conservation/recycling and improved tree cover, will be integrated with other modes of transportation such as metro and bus.
• The government would be funding the redevelopment project so as to not put any extra monetary burden on passengers. Overall, the government is currently working on redevelopment of 199 stations, of which tenders have been issued for redevelopment of 47 stations.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Cabinet has approved the extension for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-Phase VII) for a further period of 3 months i.e. October to December 2022.

• Under this welfare scheme, 5 kg of food grain per person per month is provided free of cost for all the beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) [Antodaya Anna Yojana & Priority Households] including those covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• Financial implication for the Government of India has been about Rs. 3.45 Lakh Crore upto Phase-VI of PMGKAY.
• With the additional expenditure of about Rs. 44,762 Crore for Phase-VII of this scheme, the overall expenditure of PMGKAY will be about Rs. 3.91 lakh crore for all the phases.
• So far, PMGKAY has been in operation for 25 months as under:
  • Phase I and II ( 8 months) : April’20 to Nov.’20
  • Phase-III to V (11 months) : May’21 to March’22
  • Phase-VI ( 6 months) : April’22 to Sept.’22

Hence both statements are correct.

Government of India appointed Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

• Lt Gen Chauhan will also function as Secretary, Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge. In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan had held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East India.
• The post of Chief of Defence Staff has been lying vacant since General Bipin Rawat's death in a helicopter crash on 8th December last year.
• The Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces (CDS) is the military head and permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) of the Indian Armed Forces.
• The Chief of Defence Staff is the highest-ranking uniformed officer on active duty in the Indian military and chief military adviser to the Minister of Defence. The Chief also heads the Department of Military Affairs.

Hence both statements are correct.

• Adultery is defined as a voluntary sexual intercourse by a married person with a partner other than his/her spouse.
• Under Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), adultery was a criminal offence in India.
• IPC Section 497 says it is a punishable offense for a man to have sexual intercourse with a married woman without the consent of her husband.
  • The man committing such an offense can be imprisoned for five years or more and can also be asked to pay a fine.
• One big concern regarding this provision was that it does not appear to be gender-neutral. In case of any act of adultery committed, the law calls for punishing the man but not the woman involved.
• Also, Section 497 does not enable a woman to file a complaint against her husband when he has had sexual intercourse with another woman.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court declared that single women with pregnancies between 20 and 24 weeks are entitled to access the same safe and legal abortion care as married women.

• The judgment came in an appeal by a person who wanted to terminate her pregnancy before her term completed 24 weeks.
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 prohibits unmarried women who are between 20 and 24 weeks’ pregnant to abort with the help of registered doctors.
• The Supreme Court held that the rights of reproductive autonomy, dignity and privacy give an unmarried woman the right of choice as to whether or not to bear a child on a similar footing as that of a married woman.

Hence both statements are correct.

Registered medical doctors are exempt from disclosing to the police the identity of minors who have come in for abortion, the Supreme Court directed in a judgment.

• A registered medical practitioner (RMP) is obliged under Section 19(1) of the POCSO Act to report to the police when a minor approaches him or her for an abortion.
• In many cases minors and their guardians opt to go to an unqualified doctor for abortion rather than risk being involved in criminal proceedings following a report under Section 19(1) of the POCSO Act.
• If there is an insistence on the disclosure of the name of the minor in the report under Section 19(1) of POCSO, minors may be less likely to seek out RMPs for safe termination of their pregnancies under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
• The court said it was necessary to harmonise the provisions of the MTP and POCSO laws to enable minors to approach an RMP for abortion without the fear of getting exposed.
• It would also protect the statutory obligation of the RMP to report the offence under the POCSO Act and the rights of privacy and reproductive autonomy of the minor under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Hence both statements are correct.