Test: September 2022 Weekly Current Affair - 1 - UPSC MCQ

Financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs – transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance – delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.

India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves stand at around $570 billion. It is acquired by the RBI for the following reasons:

1. To defend the rupee when needed
2. To gain external account security
3. To enable country to globalise further
4. To import essentials for economic and social security
5. To deter speculations
6. To enjoy favourable rating by sovereign credit rating agencies.

A company or business is said to be “over leveraged” if it has unsustainably high debt against its operating cash flows and equity. Such a company would find it difficult to make interest and principal repayments to its creditors, and may struggle to meet its operating expenses as well. In the latter case, the company may be forced to borrow even more just to keep going, and thus enter a vicious cycle. This situation can ultimately lead to the company going bankrupt.

Contempt of Court:

• The expression ‘contempt of court’ has not been defined by the Constitution.
• Contempt of Court refers to the offence of showing disrespect to the dignity or authority of a court.
• The objective for contempt is stated to be to safeguard the interests of the public if the authority of the Court is denigrated and public confidence in the administration of justice is weakened or eroded.

The Supreme Court and High Courts derive their contempt powers from the Constitution.
As per the Contempt of Courts Act 1971, contempt refers to the offence of showing disrespect to the dignity or authority of a court.
The act divides contempt into civil and criminal contempt.

• Civil contempt:It is willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other processes of a court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to the court.
• Criminal contempt:It is any publication which may result in:
• Scandalising the court by lowering its authority.
• Interference in the due course of a judicial proceeding.
• An obstruction in the administration of justice.

However, innocent publication and distribution of some matter, fair and reasonable criticism of judicial acts and comment on the administrative side of the judiciary do not amount to contempt of court.

• FCI is the nodal central agency of Government of India. FCI, along with other state agencies takes up the procurement of Wheat and Paddy. This is done under the Price Support Scheme.
• Apart from these two, Coarse grains (Jowar, Bajra etc.) are also procured. This is taken by the State Government agencies as per the directions issued by Government of India.
• FCI procures the food grains. It does not decide the issue price. Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) only recommends prices to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). It is the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) which finally decides the issue price.

Rights specific to this convention include the rights to accessibility including the information technology, the rights to live independently and be included in the community (Article 19), to personal mobility (article 20), habilitation and rehabilitation (Article 26), and to participation in political and public life, and cultural life, recreation and sport (Articles 29 and 30).

• Pangong Tso Lake is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m. It is 134 km (83 mi) long and extends from India to the Tibetan Autonomous Region, China. Approximately 60% of the length of the lake lies within the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
• During winter the lake freezes completely, despite being saline water. It is not a part of the Indus river basin area and geographically a separate landlocked river basin.
• The lake is in the process of being identified under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance. This will be the first trans-boundary wetland in South Asia under the convention.

1, 2, 3

Explanation:

A democratic polity should ideally have the following features:

1. Civilian control over the military: In a democracy, the military should be under the control of elected civilian leaders, and should not take over civilian institutions. Military coups or interference in politics goes against the principles of democracy.

2. Freedom of the press: A democratic system thrives on a free and independent press that can hold the government accountable and provide citizens with accurate information. Censorship of the press limits the ability of citizens to make informed decisions and participate in the democratic process.

3. Government run by elected representatives: A key principle of democracy is that the government is chosen by the people through regular, free, and fair elections. Non-elected individuals running the government undermines the democratic process and the will of the people.

So, all three of the mentioned features (military taking over civilian institutions, censorship of the press, and the government run by non-elected individuals) ideally should not be part of a democratic polity.

Umngot is India’s clearest river located in Meghalaya.

• Around 1200 years ago, a great king built a grand temple, dedicated to Martand, the Sun god. The temple survives partially today in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag. It still makes for an impressive sight with the formidable grey walls standing stark against the blue sky, broken grey fragments strewn around the green grass. Some of the walls bear clear carvings of deities, and the beauty and symmetry of the temple are still amply evident. The temple is ringed by a row of pillars—the peristyle common in Kashmiri temple architecture.
• The Martand Temple was built by the Karkota dynasty king Lalitaditya Muktapida, who ruled Kashmir from 725 AD to 753 AD.
• Dedicated to Vishnu-Surya, the Martand Temple has three distinct chambers—the mandapa, the garbhagriha, and the antralaya—probably the only three-chambered temple in Kashmir.
• The temple is built in a unique Kashmiri style, though it has definite Gandhar influences.

Mamangam was a 28-day-long trade festival celebrated once every 12 years in Kerala on the banks of the Bharathappuzha, also known as Nila.

“Although often harmful and destructive to humans, naturally occurring wildfires play an integral role in nature. They return nutrients to the soil by burning dead or decaying matter. They also act as a disinfectant, removing disease-ridden plants and harmful insects from a forest ecosystem. And by burning through thick canopies and brushy undergrowth, wildfires allow sunlight to reach the forest floor, enabling a new generation of seedlings to grow.”

• The sources of arsenic are natural or may partly stem from anthropogenic activities like intense exploitation of groundwater, application of fertilizers, burning of coal and leaching of metals from coal-ash tailings.
• Arseni is introduced into soil and groundwater during weathering of rocks and minerals followed by subsequent leaching and runoff.
• Among the various arsenic removal technologies, lime softening and iron coprecipitation have been reported to be the most effective.

• The world’s largest, fully habituated river island Majuli is situated in the middle of Brahamputra, with the Kaziranga National Park touching Jorhat and Nagaon.
• Mājuli is the abode of the Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture.
• In 2016 it became the first island to be made a district in India.

• A preamble serves as an introduction to a document and contains its basic principles and goals. When the Indian Constitution was being drafted, the ideals behind the preamble were first laid down in the Objectives Resolution, adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947. 
• Additionally, the violation of any principle mentioned in the preamble cannot be a reason to go to court, meaning the preamble is “non-justiciable” — however, judgments of courts can cite it as an additional factor in their reasoning, given that it constitutes the spirit of the Constitution.
• The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1976 when the Emergency was in place, replaced the words “sovereign democratic republic” with “sovereign socialist secular democratic republic”. It also changed “unity of the nation” to “unity and integrity of the nation”.

• United Nations Peacekeeping is a joint effort between the Department of Peace Operations and the Department of Operational Support. Every peacekeeping mission is authorized by the Security Council.
• The financial resources of UN Peacekeeping operations are the collective responsibility of UN Member States. According to UN Charter every Member State is legally obligated to pay their respective share for peacekeeping.
• UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets) can include soldiers, police officers, and civilian personnel. Peacekeeping forces are contributed by member states on a voluntary basis. Civilian staff of peace operations are international civil servants, recruited and deployed by the UN Secretariat.

India has ranked 79 out of 139 countries and jurisdictions in the World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2021. The WJP Rule of Law Index 2021 ranks the countries based on scores ranging from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating the strongest adherence to the rule of law.

• The global compact for migration is the first, inter-governmentally negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, to cover all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.
• The Global Compact for Migration is the first-ever UN global agreement on a common approach to international migration in all its dimensions. The global compact is non-legally binding.

• Article 14 says that the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. This provision confers rights on all persons whether citizens or foreigners.
• The Supreme Court held that where equals and unequals are treated differently, Article 14 does not apply. While Article 14 forbids class legislation, it permits reasonable classification of persons, subjects and transactions by the law.
• For e.g. a special law can be made for differently abled as this classification is reasonable and just.
• The concept of “equal protection of laws (EPL)” comes from the United States Constitution. It means that the law should be applied equally and fairly to all people.
  • UNICEF and WHO released this report to see progress on WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and linkages between WASH and infection prevention and control (IPC).
  • Key findings:
  • Nearly 4 bn people are at risk since over 50% of health facilities in the world lack basic hygiene services.
  • Achieving universal access to WASHin health care facilities requires political will and strong leadership at both national and facility levels
  • Achieving it is highly cost-effectiveand would yield substantial health benefits.
  • Universal basic WASH servicescould be achieved in 46 least developed countries (LDCs) by 2030 for less than US$10 billion.
  • The WHO and UNICEFrelease progress updates on WASH in households, WASH in schools and WASH in health care facilities every two years.
  • WHO’s WASH Strategy has been developed in response to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG 3:Good Health and Well Being, SDG 6: Clean Water And Sanitation).

• Kurki means attachment of a farmer’s land, already pledged to the money lending institution or individual, in case of a loan default. Apart from banks, private moneylenders, commission agents also get these decrees against farmers from time to time.
• Kurki orders are executed under Section 60 of Civil Procedure Code, 1908. The land which is pledged by the farmer to the bank or money lender gets registered in their name. In some cases, the land is auctioned as well. The process begins after the money lender moves court to get kurki orders in case the farmer is unable to pay back his loan. In kurki, attachment of farmer’s land as well as his tractor can be done as per the Section 60.

• Millets score over rice and wheat, whether in terms of vitamins, minerals and crude fibre content or amino acid profile. They are also hardier and drought-resistant crops, which has to do with their short growing season (70-100 days, as against 120-150 days for paddy/wheat) and lower water requirement (350-500 mm versus 600-1,200 mm).
• Millet crops sequester carbon from the atmosphere.
• Government provides Minimum Support price for selected millets.

The PMLA was enacted in 2002 in line with India’s global commitment to combat money laundering, particularly related to crimes involving drugs and narcotics. 

• The PMLA seeks to combat money laundering in India and has three main objectives:
• To prevent and control money laundering.
• To confiscate and seize the property obtained from the laundered money; and
• To deal with any other issue connected with money laundering in India.

The Act and Rules notified there under impose obligation on banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries to verify identity of clients, maintain records and furnish information in prescribed form to Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND).

UNAOC: Alliance of Civilizations:

• The Alliance of Civilizations aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions. It also helps to counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism.
• The United Nations Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC) was established in 2005, at the initiative of the Governments of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the United Nations.

NALSA has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to provide free legal services to weaker sections of society.
The aim is to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reasons of economic or other disabilities.

Composition:

• As per section 3(2) of Legal Service Authorities Act, the Chief Justice of India shall be the Patron-in-Chief.
• Second senior-most judge of Supreme Court of India is the Executive-Chairman.

State legal services authorities:

• In every State, State Legal Services Authority has been constituted to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA and to give free legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalats in the State. The State Legal Services Authority is headed by Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the respective High Court who is the Patron-in-Chief of the State Legal Services Authority.

• The Yarlung Tsangpo is the upper stream of the Brahmaputra River located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the longest river of Tibet.
• Originating at Angsi Glacier in western Tibet, southeast of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, it later forms the South Tibet Valley and Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon before passing into the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India.
• Downstream from Arunachal Pradesh the river becomes far wider and is called the Siang. After reaching Assam, the river is known as Brahmaputra. From Assam, the river enters Bangladesh.
• When leaving the Tibetan Plateau, the River forms the world’s largest and deepest canyon, Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon.