Test: April 2023 Weekly Current Affair - 4 - UPSC MCQ

Exercise “SURYA KIRAN” is conducted annually between India and Nepal with the aim to enhance interoperability in jungle warfare & counter terrorism operations in mountainous terrain.

• Left almost unattended to for 20 years after it came to light through the excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) between 1994 and 2001, the ancient Buddhist site on the bank of Bhima river near Kanaganahalli (forming part of Sannati site) in Kalaburagi district, has finally got some attention.
• The Kanaganahalli excavation opened up many marvels. For example, an ‘abandoned well’ in the eyes of local villagers turned out to be the magnificent Maha Stupa, which was referred to as Adholoka Maha Chaitya (the Great Stupa of the netherworlds) in the inscriptions and, more significantly, the stone-portrait of Emperor Ashoka, surrounded by his queens and female attendants.
• The Maha Stupa is believed to have been developed in three constructional phases – Maurya, Early Satavahana and Later Satavahana periods stretching from 3rd Century B.C. to 3rd Century A.D. The Stupa is believed to have been destroyed in an earthquake.

• On March 30, 1924, in the temple town of Vaikom in the princely state of Travancore, a non-violent agitation started, marking the beginning of “temple entry movements” across the country.
• At the time, caste discrimination and untouchability was rife across India, with some of the most rigid and dehumanising norms documented in Travancore. Lower castes like the Ezhavas and Pulayas were considered polluting and various rules were in place to distance them from upper castes. These included a prohibition, not just on temple entry, but even on walking on the roads surrounding temples.
• The Vaikom Satyagraha was launched in opposition to this. Amidst rising nationalist sentiment and agitations across the country, it foregrounded social reform. Not only that, for the first time, it brought Gandhian methods of nonviolent protest to Travancore.

• “Canisterising” refers to storing missiles inside a sealed, climate-controlled tube to protect them from the outside elements during transportation. In this configuration, the warhead can be permanently mated with the missile instead of having to be installed prior to launch, which would significantly reduce the amount of time needed to launch.
• India’s hypersonic and canisterized Agni Short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) and intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) capabilities are equally about preserving strategic deterrence and enhancing regional strategic stability.

• Bioprocess engineering is concerned with translating biological science into biologically based manufacturing.
• Products and services that depend on bioprocessing can be grouped broadly into
• Biopharmaceuticals: Therapeutic proteins, polysaccharides, vaccines, and diagnostics.
• Specialty products and industrial chemicals: Antibiotics, value-added food and agricultural products, and fuels, chemicals, and fiber from renewable resources.
• Environmental-management aids: Bioprocessing products and services used to control or remediate toxic wastes.

• Giving weight to the right to a speedy trial, the Supreme Court recently held that “undue delay” in a trial can be a ground for granting bail to an accused even under stringent special legislation such as the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
• NDPS is an exception to the ordinary rules for granting bail. Under Section 37 of the Act, for a court to grant bail it has to be satisfied that “that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such an offence” and that upon release, “isn’t likely to commit any offence.” This high bar, requiring the accused to prove innocence at the time of seeking bail, ensures getting bail under the law is virtually impossible for certain offences.
• In a 2008 verdict in ‘Vaman Narain Ghiya v. State of Rajasthan’, the Supreme Court has upheld the stringent bail provisions under NDPS by “balancing two competing values, i.e., the right of the accused to enjoy freedom, based on the presumption of innocence, and societal interest.”
• They are, at the same time, upheld on the condition that the trial is concluded expeditiously.
• Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires an accused to be granted bail if the trial is not concluded within specified periods. Moreover, the expression “reasonable grounds” used in Section 37 is not defined in the statute, thereby widening the scope of judicial interpretation.
• In the landmark 1979 ruling in ‘Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar’, the SC recognised the right to a speedy trial as “implicit in the broad sweep and content of Article 21”. “
• Legislations which prescribe an alternate criminal law framework, such as the NDPS Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act make bail the exception, rather than the rule.

• The government Self-Reliant India (SRI) fund provides equity funding to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
• SRI fund is a SEBI-registered category-II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) announced in May 2020 that operates through a mother-fund and daughter-fund structure and aims to invest Rs 50,000 crore into MSMEs.
• SRI fund is implemented by NSIC Venture Capital Fund Limited (NVCFL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the government’s MSME growth agency National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC). The government is the sole anchor investor in the SRI fund with the initial support of Rs 10,000 as the mother fund. The rest 80 per cent of the Rs 50,000 crore fund will be raised by daughter funds from banks, financial institutions, HNIs, and others.

UNEP has also been instrumental in creating several science-policy platforms that bring together scientists, governments, industrial and international organizations, and civil society, such as:

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
• International Resource Panel (IRP)
• Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services(IPBES)
• Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)
• Green Growth Knowledge Platform 
• Environment Live Platform

• The Solicitor General of India (SGI) is subordinate to the Attorney General for India. They are the second-highest law officer of the country. However, unlike the post of Attorney General for India, which is a Constitutional post under Article 76 of the Constitution of India, the posts of the Solicitor General and the Additional Solicitors General are merely statutory.
• Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) recommends the appointment and officially appoints the Solicitor General.

Auxin, any of a group of plant hormones that regulate growth, particularly by stimulating cell elongation in stems. Auxins also play a role in cell division and differentiation, in fruit development, in the formation of roots from cuttings, in the inhibition of lateral branching (apical dominance), and in leaf fall (abscission).

• Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses, and other disease agents.
• Malaria is transmitted by Anopheles mosquito.
• Japanese Encephalitis is generally spread by mosquitoes, specifically those of the Culex type.

• Surrogacy is defined by law as “a practice whereby one woman bears and gives birth to a child for an intending couple” and intends to hand over the child to them after the birth, as per The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 (SRA). It further allows for surrogacy to be available only to infertile Indian married couples.
• The other legislation on this matter, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) (Regulation) Act, 2021. This is open to married couples, live-in partners, single women, and also foreigners.
• ART procedures include gamete donation, intrauterine insemination, and in-vitro fertilisation or IVF.
• The SRA Act says the surrogate should be married and have a child of her own. Restricting altruistic surrogacy to legally wedded infertile Indian couples, the Act sets an age limitation for the couple where a husband must be between 26 and 55 years of age and a wife between 23 and 50 years. Further, Indian couples with biological or adopted children are prohibited to undertake surrogacy, save for some exceptions such as mentally or physically challenged children, or those sufferings from a life-threatening disorder or fatal illness.

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.

• Negotiable warehouse receipt, which was launched in 2011, allows transfer of ownership of that commodity stored in a warehouse without having to deliver the physical commodity. These receipts are issued in negotiable form, making them eligible as collateral for loans.
• Warehouse receipts are made negotiable under the Warehouse (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007, and regulated by the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA).
• NWR are issued by registered warehouses enables farmers to seek loans from banks against NWRs
• The government has rolled out negotiable warehousing receipts in electronic format that farmers can use to avail of bank credit easily and without fear of losing or misusing it.

Hominins are extinct members of the human lineage.
Mitochondria, popularly called the powerhouse of the cell, is an organelle inside the cell that has its own DNA. Although the mitochondrial genome is small and only contains a fraction of genetic information in the cell, it is present in thousands of copies. 

• Broadly, Parliamentary Committees can be classified into Financial Committees, Departmentally Related Standing Committees, Other Parliamentary Standing Committees, and Ad hoc Committees.
• The Financial Committees include the Estimates Committee, Public Accounts Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings. These committees were constituted in 1950.
• Seventeen Departmentally Related Standing Committees came into being in 1993 to examine budgetary proposals and crucial government policies. The aim was to increase Parliamentary scrutiny, and to give members more time and a wider role in examining important legislation.
• The number of Committees was subsequently increased to 24. Each of these Committees has 31 members — 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
• Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose. They cease to exist after they have completed the task assigned to them, and have submitted a report to the House. The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills. Committees like the Railway Convention Committee, Committee on Food Management and Security in Parliament House Complex, etc. also come under the category of Ad hoc Committees.

Conditions for Cotton cultivation:

• Hard-frost is injurious to cotton cultivation and it requires at least 210 frost-free days.
• Only light-rainfall (50 to 100 centimetres) is preferred. Cotton can also be cultivated under irrigated conditions.
• It requires high temperatures and bright sunshine for its growth.

• Presiding Officers use their discretion to refer a matter to a Parliamentary Committee, but this is usually done in consultation with leaders of parties in the House.
• An invitation to appear before a Parliamentary Committee is equivalent to a summons from a court: If one cannot come, he or she has to give reasons, which the panel may or may not accept. However, the chairman should have the support of the majority of the members to summon a witness.
• Reports of Departmentally Related Standing Committees are recommendatory in nature. They are not binding on the government, but they do carry significant weight. In the past, governments have accepted suggestions given by the Committees and incorporated them into the Bill after it has come back to the House for consideration and passage. These panels also examine policy issues in their respective Ministries and make suggestions to the government. The government has to report back on whether these recommendations have been accepted. Based on this, the Committees table Action Taken Reports, detailing the status of the government’s action on each recommendation.

• The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.
• It is a major policy tool to understand the impact of global food prices on farmer’s income (export competitiveness) and domestic inflation.

• Buddhism became the predominant religion in Tibet by the 9th century AD. It evolved from the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions of Buddhism, incorporating many tantric and shamanic practices of both post-Gupta period Buddhism in India as well as the Bon religion which was spread across Tibet before Buddhism’s arrival.
• Tibetan Buddhism has four major schools: Nyingma (8th century), Kagyu (11th century), Sakya (1073), and Gelug (1409). The Janang school (12th century) is one of the smaller schools that grew as an offshoot of the Sakya school. Since 1640, the Gelug school has been the predominant school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama belongs to this school.

Substantive equality is a fundamental aspect of human rights law that is concerned with equitable outcomes and equal opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalized people and groups in society.

In India, the Indus basin spreads over Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and part of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Chandigarh.

• Concessional finance is below market rate finance provided by major financial institutions, such as development banks and multilateral funds, to developing countries to accelerate development objectives. The term concessional finance does not represent a single mechanism or type of financial support but comprises a range of below market rate products used to accelerate a climate or development objective.
• Concessional finance targets high-impact projects responding to globally significant development challenges – from climate change mitigation and resilience to vaccine deployment, water sanitation and education – that otherwise could not go ahead without specialised financial support.
• The most common financial products used to deliver concessional finance come in the form of loans, grants and, to some extent, equity investments.

Registered associations can receive foreign contributions for social, educational, religious, economic and cultural purposes.