Test: Monthly Current Affairs April- 1 - UPSC MCQ

Option C is correct: Facebook and Google are planning two undersea internet cables named “Echo and Bifrost” to connect the US to Singapore and Indonesia. Echo will run from Eureka, California to Singapore, with a stop-over in Guam, and thereto in Indonesia. Google is only investing in Echo, Facebook is investing in both cables. Need: The current COVID-19 pandemic across the globe has increased the need for reliable Internet access. And, this will provide vital new connections between the Asia-Pacific region and North America and increase the overall transpacific capacity by 70 per cent.

Global Gender Gap Report released by World Economic Forum

• It is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
• The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Statement 1 is not correct: The Central Information Commission was established by the Central Government in 2005. It was constituted under the provisions of the Right to Information Act (2005). Hence, it is not a constitutional body.
Statement 2 is not correct: The Commission can order an inquiry into any matter if there are reasonable grounds (suo- moto power). While inquiring, the commission has the power of the civil court in certain matters.
Statement 3 is not correct: The Commission consists of Chief Information Commissioner and not more than ten information commissioners. They are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha; a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister. 
Under Article 148 of the Constitution, the Comptroller and Audit General of India shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. This means that the appointment letter bears the signature and seal of the President of India. The rest of the appointments don't require the signature of the President as he can delegate this to other authority. In that case the appointment letter will bear the signature of the respective authority.

In News: Recently, researchers from the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital and the Royal Observatory of Belgium have developed CMEs Identification in Inner Solar Corona (CIISCO).
Option C is correct: Aditya-L1 First Indian mission to study the Sun. It was meant to observe only the solar corona.  The outer layers of the Sun, extending to thousands of km above the disc (photosphere) is termed as the corona.  A Satellite placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/ eclipses.

In News: According to the Reserve Bank of India, India’s current account deficit narrowed to 0.2 percent of the GDP in the December quarter as against 0.4 per cent of GDP in the year-ago period.
Option A is correct: In simple terms, the current account measures the flow of goods, services, and investments into and out of the country. It represents a country’s foreign transactions and, like the capital account, is a component of a country’s Balance of Payments (BOP). The Current Account Deficit (CAD) is the shortfall between the money flowing in on exports, and the money flowing out on imports. Current Account Deficit and Fiscal Deficit (also known as "budget deficit" is a situation when a nation's expenditure exceeds its revenues) are together known as twin deficits and both often reinforce each other, i.e., a high fiscal deficit leads to higher CAD and vice versa.

In News: Recently, the cargo ship ‘Ever Given’ has been finally freed after spending almost a week stuck in the Suez Canal.
Statement 1 is correct: The Suez Canal is located in Egypt. It is an artificial sea-level waterway which was built between 1859 and 1869 and it links the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
Statement 2 is not correct: The canal was opened for international navigation in 1869 and was nationalised in 1956 to pay for the construction of a dam on the Nile. It was the focal point of the Arab-Israeli War of 1973, with the Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria.

Option B is correct: Hamja Folk Dance is a traditional folk dance by the Rabha tribe of Assam, who have an agrarian culture and in shifting cultivation they work together sharing a common song and music. It helps them to finish the work easily, hence in this folk dance, they take agricultural implements. Rabha is a prominent tribe in Assam and is recognized as Scheduled Tribe (ST) by Indian Constitution.

Statement 1 is not correct: The Prime Minister’s Kisan Urja Suraksha Evum Utthan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) scheme is for farmers. It provides for installation of solar pumps and gridconnected solar and other renewable power plants in the country.
Statement 2 is not correct: The scheme has been launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

• The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is a groundbreaking global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.
• It was launched at the end of April 2020.

Statement 1 is correct: The Stand Up India scheme was launched by the government to promote entrepreneurship among women, Scheduled Castes (SC) & Scheduled Tribes (ST).

• The scheme is anchored by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance.

Statement 2 is correct: Loans under the scheme are available for only greenfield projects. It facilitates bank loans between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 Crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch for setting up a greenfield enterprise.

Option D is correct: Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is a small, autonomous ultra-light aircraft that is carried to the surface of Mars attached to the belly of the Perseverance rover. The 1.8 kg rotorcraft cost NASA around USD 85 million to develop. It is expected to make its first flight attempt no earlier than 11th April 2021 on Mars.

In News: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed three variants of a ‘Chaff Rocket’.
Option A is correct: The DRDO’s facility Defence Laboratory Jodhpur (DLJ) has indigenously developed three variants of this critical technology: Short Range Chaff Rocket (SRCR), MediumRange Chaff Rocket (MRCR) and Long Range Chaff Rocket (LRCR). The chaff system basically comprises multiple barrel launchers (Port and Starboard configuration), with each launcher possessing a built-in stabilization system against roll, pitch and yaw motions. It will protect naval ships against enemy missile attack. It is primarily a mechanism that when fired acts as a decoy to deflect the guiding mechanism of enemy missiles. The successful development of Advanced Chaff Technology is another step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Statement 1 is correct: The Spices Board India was constituted in February 1987 under the Spices Board Act 1986. It is an autonomous body, responsible for the export promotion of the 52 scheduled spices and the development of Cardamom (small and large).
Statement 2 is not correct: It is one of the five Commodity Boards functioning under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Option D is correct: The Narikuravar is an indigenous community from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They have traditionally been hunters, but now make and sell beads and small beauty products at the margins of roads, often searching for business from place to place in hopes of finding new markets and customers.

In News: A recent analysis of records shows that the National Security Act (NSA) has been invoked in Uttar Pradesh (UP) frequently.
Statement 1 is correct: The NSA has its roots in the colonial era. In 1818, Bengal Regulation III was enacted to empower the British government to arrest anyone for maintenance of public order without giving the person recourse to judicial proceedings.
Statement 2 is not correct: The act allows for preventive detention and empowers the government to detain foreigners and regulate their presence or expel them from India.
Statement 3 is not correct: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which collects crime data in India, does not include cases under the NSA as no FIRs are registered.

Option C is correct: Wolf-Rayet stars are one of the hottest kinds of stars. They are highly luminous objects (thousand times that of the Sun). They strip their outer hydrogen envelope which is associated with the fusion of Helium and other elements in the massive core.

In News: Recently, the Central government has decided to rope in the private sector to commence production of concentrated poppy straw from India’s opium crop.
Statement 1 is correct: Opium poppy is a medicinal herb that produces a variety of alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, etc. and is best known as a pain reliever in modern medicine.
Statement 2 is not correct: Under the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), India is among the 12 countries in the world allowed to grow opium poppy for medicinal use.
Statement 3 is correct: India is the only nation allowed to extract gum opium, in which skilled workers manually extract the latex that contains 70% of the morphine synthesized by the plant by lancing its flower-bearing pod.

In News: The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has modified the guidelines pertaining to the transfer and posting of officials in the vigilance units of government organisations, restricting their tenure to three years at one place.
Statement 1 is correct: The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is the main agency for preventing corruption in the Central government. It is a multi-member body consisting of a Central Vigilance Commissioner (chairperson) and not more than two vigilance commissioners.
Statement 2 is correct: They are appointed by the president by warrant under his hand and seal on the recommendation of a three-member committee consisting of the prime minister as its head, the Union minister of home affairs and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Statement 3 is not correct: They hold office for a term of four years or until they attain the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier. After their tenure, they are not eligible for further employment under the Central or a state government.
Statement 4 is not correct: The CVC was set up by the Government in February 1964 on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam. In 2003, the Parliament enacted CVC Act conferring statutory status on the CVC. The CVC is not controlled by any Ministry/Department. It is an independent body which is only responsible to the Parliament.

Option D is correct: Anamaya, Tribal Health Collaborative, is a multi-stakeholder initiative launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It will converge various government efforts to enhance the health and nutrition status of the tribal communities and will play a crucial role in achieving the ultimate goal of ‘Health for All’.

Option B is correct: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) releases the World Economic Outlook (WEO) 2021. It provides analysis and forecasts of economic developments and policies in its member countries. The WEO is released in April and September/October each year. The report projects the state of the global economy and highlights risks and uncertainty that threaten growth.