Daily Current Affairs MCQ- October 10, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

• Adopt Heritage Project: It was launched in 2017 as a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), State/UTs Governments.
  • It aims to involve public sector companies, private sector companies, and corporate citizens/individuals to take up the responsibility for making our heritage and tourism more sustainable.
  • It envisages the development and maintenance of tourist amenities at heritage sites and making them tourist-friendly.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Union Minister of Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, who is also the Vice President of CSIR, announces "One Week One Lab" campaign.

• Objective of this campaign is to showcase the technological breakthroughs and innovations in each of the 37 CSIR laboratories/institutes spread across the country.
• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), was established by the Government of India in 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the largest research and development organisation in India.

Hence both statements are correct.

Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), launched under Startup India initiative in 2016 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has committed Rs. 7,385 crore to 88 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) as of 24th September 2022.

• These AIFs in turn have invested Rs. 11,206 crore in 720 startups. FFS has been playing a monumental role in mobilizing domestic capital in Indian startup ecosystem.
• FFS was announced with a corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore. The corpus is to be built up over 14th and 15th Finance Commission Cycles (FY 2016-2020 and FY 2021-2025) through budgetary support by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
• Under FFS, support is extended to SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), which in turn invest in startups.
• Furthermore, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) which is responsible for operationalising the Scheme has undertaken a series of reforms recently to expedite the drawdowns to enable AIFs assisted under FFS to avail accelerated drawdowns.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Union Commerce Ministry announced the extension of the existing foreign trade policy by six months.

• The reason behind the development is currency volatility and global uncertainty. The ministry said, the geo-political situation is not suitable for long-term foreign trade policy.
• Earlier, the government had extended the due date for the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 to September 30, 2022. Currently, fears of a recession in major economies like the US and Europe have escalated a panic among investors.
• Foreign Trade Policy provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment and increasing value addition in the country. It focuses to support both the manufacturing and services sectors, with a special emphasis on improving the ease of doing business.
• Earlier this month, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting that focused on export target setting, the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) (2022-27), and the strategies and measures to take forward domestic manufacturing and exports.

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched AVGAS 100 LL.

• The launch event hosted by Indian Oil at Hindan Airforce Station witnessed participation by senior officials from Indian Airforce, senior officials from MoPNG and MoCA and officials from Flying Training Organizations (FTOs).
• At present AVGAS 100 LL is completely imported product. The domestic production of AVGAS 100 LL produced by Indian Oil at its Gujarat Refinery will make flying training more affordable in India.
• This product which fuels the aircraft operated by FTOs and Defense forces, is being imported for decades by India. Indian Oil’s R&D, Refineries and Marketing teams have achieved this feat of indigenous production and have offered price advantage to the industry.
• AV GAS 100 LL produced by IndianOil’s flagship refinery at Vadodara has been tested and certified by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the statutory body of the Government of India to regulate civil aviation in India.
• It is a higher-octane Aviation fuel meeting the product specifications with superior performance quality standards, as compared to imported grades.

Hence both statements are correct.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi has declined the government’s offer to be Attorney General (A-G) for India. The term of the incumbent A-G, K K Venugopal, ends on September 30. He is 91 years old, and on his third extension.

• The Constitution of India places the post of the A-G on a special footing. The A-G is the Government of India’s first law officer, and has the right of audience in all courts of the country.
• Article 76(2) of the Constitution says “it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General to give advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters, and to perform such other duties of a legal character, as may from time to time be referred or assigned to him by the President”.
• The A-G is also supposed to “discharge the functions conferred on him by or under this Constitution or any other law for the time being in force”.
• Under Article 88, the “Attorney-General of India shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of, either House, any joint sitting of the Houses, and any committee of Parliament of which he may be named a member”.
• However, he “shall not by virtue of this article be entitled to vote” in the House.
• Under Article 76(1), the A-G is appointed by the President from among persons who are “qualified to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court”. Article 76(4) says “the Attorney-General shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, and shall receive such remuneration as the President may determine.”

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union government is pushing tech giants to make smartphones compatible with its home-grown navigation system within months, worrying the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi and Apple who fear elevated costs and disruptions as the move requires hardware changes.

• In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive for self-reliance, India has over the years expanded the use of its regional navigation satellite system called NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation).
• The Union government wants to reduce dependence on foreign systems, including the widely used U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), and says NavIC provides more accurate domestic navigation and that its use would benefit the economy.
• China, the European Union, Japan and Russia have their own global or regional navigation systems to rival GPS. Operational since 2018, NavIC’s uptake is minimal; it is mandated in public vehicle location trackers, for example.
• The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), with an operational name of NavIC, is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system that provides accurate real-time positioning and timing services.
• It covers India and a region extending 1,500 km around it, with plans for further extension.

Hence both statements are correct.

• Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a NASA space mission aimed at testing a method of planetary defence against near-Earth objects (NEOs).
• It is the first-ever mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection by changing an asteroid’s motion in space through kinetic impact.
  • An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System.
  • Asteroids range in size and shape from 1-metre rocks to a dwarf planet nearly 1000 km in diameter.
  • They are metallic or rocky bodies with no atmosphere.
• The auto-rickshaw sized 600 kgs probe - DART, was launched from Earth in 2021, and it recently collided with football stadium-sized Dimorphos (about five billion kgs in mass), orbiting around the 780 metres wide primary asteroid Didymos (which poses no actual threat to Earth).
  • NASA has confirmed that the collision deflected the pair of space rocks' trajectory.
  • This method of kinetic impact is also known as the 'kick'
• DART is a joint project between NASA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Maryland, US.
• International partners include the European Space Agency (ESA), the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), contributing to related or subsequent projects.

Legendary actress Asha Parekh will be honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2020.

• Ms. Asha Parekh is a renowned film actress, director and producer and an accomplished Indian classical dancer. Ms. Parekh is also a winner of Padma Shri, which was awarded to her in 1992.
• She has also served as the head of Central Board for Film Certification from 1998-2001.
• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema.
• It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• The recipient is honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema". The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1,000,000.
• The award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke's contribution to Indian cinema, who is popularly known as and often regarded as "the father of Indian cinema".

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) jointly launched a Convergence Portal between Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).

• This launch will prove to be very important for the Food Processing Enterprises of the country.
• The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) - a medium to long-term debt financing facility started on 08 July 2020 for the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and building of community farming assets. Benefits under the scheme include 3% interest subvention and credit guarantee support.
• Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) launched a centrally sponsored PPMFME scheme on June 29th, 2020 as a part of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” to enhance the competitiveness of individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment & promote the formalization of this sector.
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojna is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries envisaged as a comprehensive package that will result in the creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.