Daily Current Affairs MCQ- October 17, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

According to the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan has the potential to save over Rs. 10 Lakh Crore annually by improving logistics efficiency. 

• The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 13, 2021.
• It is a digital platform to bring 16 Ministries including Railways and Roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
• It will facilitate the last mile connectivity of infrastructure and reduce logistics costs.
• It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc.
• Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defence corridors, electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters, agri zones will be covered to improve connectivity & make Indian businesses more competitive.

Hence, both statements are correct

Union Cabinet recently approved a new Scheme “Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) for the remaining four years of the 15th Finance Commission from 2022-23 to 2025-26.

• It is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% central funding.
• It will be implemented by Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
• It will have an outlay of Rs.6,600 crore for the four year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• The infrastructure projects will be funded in line with the priorities laid down under the PM Gati Shakti program. 
• The objectives of PM-DevINE are to:
  • Fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti;
  • Support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER;
  • Enable livelihood activities for youth and women;
  • Fill the development gaps in various sectors.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi recently rejected the Pakistan PM Sharif’s statement on the Kashmir issue at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Astana.

• The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a multi-national forum for strengthening cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
• It was founded by the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, on 5 October 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
• India is one of the founding members of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
• To be a member of CICA, a state must have at least a part of its territory in Asia.
• The CICA Summit is convened every four years. The Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs is required to be held every two years.
• The CICA Secretariat - administrative body of CICA - is located in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Wildlife officials in Arunachal Pradesh await results of a survey to ascertain the presence of the elusive snow leopard in the Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve.

• Snow leopards are native to the alpine regions of Central Asia.
• The 12 snow-leopard range countries are – Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Russia and Uzbekistan.
• In India, snow leopards inhabit the higher Himalayan and trans-Himalayan region at an altitude between 3,000-5,400 metres.
• Snow leopard states are Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Conservation:

• It is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN red list of threatened species.
• It is protected under Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
• Also, it is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing a rocket named Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) to replace the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle):

• It is an indigenously-developed expendable launch system of the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization). It was developed in the 1980s.
• It comes in the category of medium-lift launchers with a reach up to various orbits, including the Geo Synchronous Transfer Orbit, Lower Earth Orbit, and Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.
• All the operations of PSLV are controlled from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, east coast, India.
• It has a four-stage system comprising a combination of solid and liquid-fuelled rocket stages.
  • The first stage at the very bottom is solid fuelled having six strap-on solid rocket boosters wrapped around it.
  • Second stage is liquid fuelled whereas the third stage has a solid fuelled rocket motor.
  • At the fourth stage, the launcher uses a liquid propellant to boost in the outer space.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Environment Ministry recently released guidelines for grant of one-time financial support for establishment of pelletisation and torrefaction plants to promote utilisation of paddy stubble in thermal power plants and industries.

• It is a ₹50-crore incentive scheme.
• It is generated from the environment protection charge being collected by the Central Pollution Control Board following a 2016 Supreme Court order in MC Mehta Vs Union of India case.
• It directed that a charge of 1% of ex-showroom price be imposed on every diesel car with 2000 cc and above capacity in Delhi NCR.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Supreme Court recently indicated it may consider taking up Kerala’s review of the Supreme Court’s judgment to have a one-km eco-sensitive zone ringing protected forests, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

• Land within 10 km of the boundaries of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are to be notified as eco-fragile zones or Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ).
• While the 10-km rule is implemented as a general principle, the extent of its application can vary.
• Areas beyond 10-km can also be notified by the Union government as ESZs, if they hold larger ecologically important “sensitive corridors”.
• Activities prohibited in an ESZ, such as commercial mining, saw mills, commercial use of wood, etc., apart from regulated activities like felling of trees.
• There are permitted activities like ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, among others.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Union government recently told the Supreme Court that the procedure for funding political parties under the Electoral Bond Scheme-2018 is “absolutely transparent”.

• The electoral bonds system was introduced in 2017 by way of a money bill introducing amendments in the Finance Act and the Representation of People Act.
• It was implemented in 2018.
• The electoral bonds are issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore. 
• State Bank of India is the only bank authorised to sell electoral bonds.
• Buyers can donate the bonds to a party of their choice and the bonds have to be cashed by the party through its verified account within 15 days.
• No payment shall be made to any political party if the electoral bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period of 15 days.
• Eligible political parties are allotted a verified account by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the electoral bond transactions can be made only through this account.
• Buyers of the bonds have to submit full KYC details at the time of buying. However, the beneficiary political party is not required to reveal the identity of the entity that has given it the bonds.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India’s first ballistic missile nuclear submarine (SSMN) INS Arihant carried out a successful launch of a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM).

• The capability of being able to launch nuclear weapons from submarines has great strategic importance in the context of achieving a nuclear triad, especially in the light of the ‘no first use’ policy of India.
• INS Arihant is India’s nuclear-powered ballistic missile capable submarine, classified under the SSBN programme. 
• It was commissioned in 2016.
• INS Arihant is presently armed with K-15 SLBM with a range of 750 km.
• The next in the class, INS Arighat is reported to have been launched in 2017 and is said to have been undergoing sea trials.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India participated at the 6th East Asia Summit Education Minister’s Meeting held recently in Hanoi, Vietnam.

• The East Asia Summit (EAS) is the Indo-Pacific's premier forum for strategic dialogue. 
• It was established in 2005.
• The EAS has 18 members:
  • The ten ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. 
• The EAS membership represents around 54% of the world’s population and accounts for 58% of global GDP.
• Six priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS
  • Environment and Energy,
  • Education,
  • Finance,
  • Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases,
  • Natural Disaster Management, and
  • ASEAN Connectivity

Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.