Test: June 2023 Weekly Current Affair - 1 - UPSC MCQ

• A polygraph test is carried out on the assumption that physiological responses triggered when one is lying are different from what they otherwise would be. Rather than injecting drugs into the body, polygraph tests attach instruments like cardio-cuffs or sensitive electrodes to the suspect and measure variables such as blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration, change in sweat gland activity, blood flow, etc., while the suspect is being questioned.
• In the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in “Selvi & Ors vs State of Karnataka & Anr” (2010), a Bench of the then Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan, and Justices RV Raveendran and JM Panchal held that no lie detector tests should be administered “except on the basis of consent of the accused”. Those who volunteer must have access to a lawyer and have the physical, emotional, and legal implications of the test explained to them by the police and the lawyer.
• The court emphasised that the ‘Guidelines for the Administration of Polygraph Test on an Accused’, published by the National Human Rights Commission in 2000, must be strictly followed.

Statement 1 is incorrect.

Measles or as it is called ‘khasra’, is a highly contagious viral disease which affects mostly children. It is one of the leading causes of death and disability among young children. There is no specific treatment for measles but there is a vaccine to stay protected from the disease, which is both safe as well as cost effective.

Measles spreads by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions. So, isolation of these infected children is essential.

Death due to measles are caused by the complications associated with the disease like blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea and pneumonia. “The condition of an infected child turns severe in cases of poor nourishment, Vitamin A deficiency and if the child is immunocompromised.

• Concern about “period poverty” has fuelled campaigns globally calling for the end of the so-called tampon tax, which refers to consumption levies such as value-added tax (VAT) that most countries charge on items such as sanitary pads, tampons, panty liners and menstrual cups.
• Since Kenya became the first country to scrap VAT on sanitary pads and tampons in 2004, at least 17 countries have followed suit.

Specialized Agencies of UN:

• FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization
• IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural Development
• ILO: International Labour Organization
• IMF: International Monetary Fund
• IMO: International Maritime Organization
• ITU: International Telecommunication Union
• UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
• UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development Organization
• UNWTO:World Tourism Organization
• UPU: Universal Postal Union
• WHO: World Health Organization
• WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization
• WMO: World Meteorological Organization
• World Bank Group
• IBRD: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• IDA: International Development Association
• IFC: International Finance Corporation

Only Statement 1 is correct.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Retail Direct Scheme. The scheme provides investors an opportunity to invest in government securities in a safe and hassle-free way, in the primary and secondary market. Government securities under this scheme, includes Government of India Treasury Bills (T-Bills), Government of India dated securities (dated G-Sec), State Development Loans (SDLs), Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB). Retail Direct Scheme offers retail investors the opportunity to buy securities directly and free of charges. Individual retailers can open a Gilt Securities Account, called a Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account with RBI to participate in the buying and selling of government securities.

Statement 4 is incorrect.

The Governing Council of NITI Aayog comprises the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India; Chief Ministers of all the States and Union Territories with legislature; Lt Governors of other UTs; Ex-Officio Members; Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Full-Time Members, NITI Aayog; and Special Invitees.
It is the premier body tasked with evolving a shared vision of national priorities and strategies, with the active involvement of States, in shaping the development narrative. The Governing Council, which embodies the objectives of cooperative federalism, presents a platform to discuss inter-sectoral, inter-departmental and federal issues to accelerate the implementation of the national development agenda.

So far, eight meetings of the Governing Council have been held under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Prime Minister.

Statement 3 is incorrect.

The Union Agriculture Ministry has restricted the use of glyphosate, a widely used herbicide.

• It is a herbicide used to kill weeds — undesirable plants that compete with crops for nutrients, water and sunlight. Since weeds basically grow at the expense of crops, farmers remove them manually or spray herbicides.
• Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that can control a wide range of weeds, whether broadleaf or grassy.
• In general, though, the scope for glyphosate use is limited for the very reason that it is non-selective. Designed to kill all plants coming into contact with it, the chemical cannot ordinarily distinguish between crop and weed. Hence, it can be used in tea or rubber plantations, but not in fields where the crops and weeds are at almost the same level.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issued a notification stating that “the use of glyphosate involves health hazards and risk to human beings and animals”. It has, however, not banned and only “restricted” its use. The spraying of glyphosate and its derivatives shall henceforth only be permitted through “pest control operators”.

Statement 2 is incorrect.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that it has finalised the preparation of the Model Prisons Act, 2023, to replace the existing 130-year-old colonial law.

Intending to provide guidance and address gaps in the existing prison laws, the 2023 Act seeks to bring in the use of technology in prison management, make provisions for the grant of parole, furlough, and remission, and introduce special provisions for women and transgender inmates.

The first legislation that governed the management and administration of prisons in India was the Prisons Act, of 1894. 

As per the provisions of the Constitution, ‘prisons’ and ‘persons detained therein’ fall under the State List. This means that the responsibility of prison management and administration solely vests with the state government, which alone is competent to make appropriate legislative provisions in this regard.

Statement 2 is incorrect.

The physical temperature of an object determines the wavelength of the radiation it emits. The hotter the object, the shorter the wavelength of peak emission.

X-rays come from objects that are millions of degrees Celsius — such as pulsars, galactic supernova remnants, and black holes.

Option 2 is incorrect.

The Aral Sea in Central Asia, Lake Mar Chiquita in Argentina, the Dead Sea in the Middle East, and the Salton Sea in California have mainly dried due to unsustainable water consumption. Whereas, increasing temperature and PET caused the complete disappearance of Lake Gowd-e-Zareh in Afghanistan, Toshka lakes in Egypt, and marked drying of Lake Kara-Bogaz-Gol in Turkmenistan, Lake Khyargas in Mongolia, and Lake Zonag in China.

Statement 2 is incorrect.

Agriculture was included in the List II (State List) in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. More importantly, agricultural education was detached from the other streams of higher education and attached to the occupied field of agriculture in List II. Thus, Entry 14 in List II reads: “Agriculture, including agricultural education and research…”; Entry 15 reads: “…veterinary training and practice”; and Entry 21 reads: “Fisheries”.

Indeed, education was included in List III (Concurrent List).

The ICAR has had a unique legal status. It was established in 1929 (“I”, then, stood for Imperial) as a department of the Government of India though it was also a society registered under the Societies Registration Act. After independence, the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) was set up in 1973 in the Ministry of Agriculture. The major functions of DARE were to facilitate agricultural research and education, coordinate between the Centre and the States, and attend to matters related to the ICAR. 

• The parliament building’s construction took six years, from 1921 to 1927, and it was originally called the Council House and housed the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India.
• It is popularly believed that the circular shape of the Chausath Yogini temple at Mitawli village in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena provided inspiration for the Council House design.

NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance of thirty-one European and North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The accession process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s governing body. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO was formed with twelve founding members. Membership has subsequently grown to 31 through several enlargements, which require unanimous approval by all current members.

• Suspended from the ceiling of the Central Foyer of India’s new Parliament building, inaugurated on Sunday (May 29), is a Foucault pendulum that all but touches the floor as it rotates on its axis. The pendulum hangs from a skylight at the top of the Constitution Hall, and signifies the “integration of the idea of India with the idea of the cosmos”.
• Created by the National Council of Science Museum (NCSM) in Kolkata, the pendulum is being dubbed as the largest such piece in India, 22 metre in height, and weighing a staggering 36 kg.
• On the ground, a circular installation has been created to allow the pendulum’s movement, with a short grill around it, allowing the visitors to stand around. At the latitude of the Parliament, it takes 49 hours, 59 minutes, and 18 seconds for the pendulum to complete one rotation, as per the details displayed at the installation.
• This Foucault’s Pendulum is not something new … the first one was installed in 1991 at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune. 
• The original Foucault’s pendulum, named after 19th century French scientist Leon Foucault, is a simple experiment to demonstrate the earth’s rotation.
• The experimental set-up involves a heavy object hung from a height with a string, free to swing in any direction. Once set in to-and-fro motion, the pendulum is seen to change its orientation slowly over time. For example, if the initial motion imparted to it was in the north-south direction, after a few hours it could be seen moving in the east-west direction.
• Actually, it is not the pendulum that changes its plane of motion, but the ground beneath it. Observers standing on the ground do not notice the earth’s rotation, because they too are rotating with the earth, but can notice the change in orientation of the pendulum.
• At the north and south poles, when the pendulum is aligned with the axis of rotation of the earth, the pendulum’s back-and-forth motion comes back to its original plane in exactly 24 hours. That is, if it starts swinging in the north-south direction, it then slowly turns in the northeast-southwest direction, then in the east-west direction. It keeps on changing its orientation, till it is back in its original orientation after 24 hours.
• At other latitudes, it takes longer for the pendulum to return to its original orientation of swinging. That is because the pendulum is not aligned with the axis of rotation of the earth. At the equator, the pendulum is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, and hence it never changes its orientation of the swing. Meaning, a Foucault’s pendulum at the equator would not show any deviation from its original course. At other latitudes it will, and would return to the original course after fixed time periods.
  

Statement 3 is incorrect.

The Supreme Court, in PUCL vs Union of India, 2013, (popularly known as the NOTA judgment) has held that abstention from voting and negative voting are protected as freedom of expression — a fundamental right (Article 19).

The ECI has consistently held and practised this by implementing its flagship programme called SVEEP (Systematic Voters Education for Electoral Participation) since 2010.

In PUCL vs Union of India, the Court said: “Protection of elector’s identity and affording secrecy is integral to free and fair elections and an arbitrary distinction between a voter who casts and a voter who does not cast his vote is violative of Article 14. Thus, secrecy is to be maintained for both categories of persons.”

India has been issuing commemorative coins since the 1960s for several reasons such as paying homage to notable personalities, spreading awareness about government schemes, or remembering key historic events.

• Climbing in the Himalayas was fundamentally different than in the Alps. For one, most peaks in the Alps are far more accessible than their Himalayan counterparts. This inaccessibility gave birth to expedition climbing – climbing became military-like with massive logistics operations to support the actual ascent.
• Second, the high peaks of the Himalayas were also significantly taller than the ones in the Alps – posing multiple novel challenges, including thinning air at high altitudes.

• Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay completed the first confirmed ascent of Mount Everest.
• Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world (in terms of height above sea level).
• Rongbuk Monastery is near the base of Everest’s northern side.

• Article 42 of the Constitution, forming part of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs), provides that the “State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.”
• In the 2009 case of “Suchita Srivastava v. Chandigarh Admn,” the top court held that reproductive choices are inherent to a woman’s right to privacy, dignity, and bodily integrity, which are covered under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• In 2021, the UGC issued a circular, which inserted provisions in the UGC Regulations, 2016, for providing “women students” with maternity or childcare leave once in the entire duration of the MPhil or PhD course for up to 240 days.

Statement 2 is incorrect.

Baliyatra, literally ‘voyage to Bali’, is one of the country’s largest open-air fairs, which is organised every year to commemorate the 2,000-year-old maritime and cultural links between ancient Kalinga (today’s Odisha) and Bali and other South and Southeast Asian regions like Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Burma (Myanmar) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

The origins of the festival, which begins on Kartik Purnima (full moon night in the month of Kartik) can be traced back more than 1,000 years. The Bay of Bengal region had several ports, and sadhavas (traders) traditionally began their voyage across the sea on this auspicious day, when the winds were favourable for the boats, known as boita, to sail.

According to historians, popular items of trade between Kalinga and Southeast Asia included pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, silk, camphor, gold, and jewellery.

Only statement 2 is correct.

The process of evergreening of loans, a form of zombie lending, is typically a temporary fix for a bank. If an account turns into a non-performing asset (NPA), banks are required to make higher provisions which will impact their profitability. A loan turns into a nonperforming asset, or NPA, if the interest or instalment remains unpaid even after the due date — and remains unpaid for a period of more than 90 days.

So, to avoid classifying a loan as an NPA, banks adopt the evergreening of loans. In the past, many banks had indulged in dressing up bad loans and given additional funds to companies who didn’t have the capacity to repay.

An accommodative monetary policy creates an enabling environment for weak banks to evergreen loans to zombies and keeps them alive. The RBI has been following an accommodative policy since March 2020 when the pandemic struck the country. Most of the evergreening has happened in public sector banks which subsequently led to a jump in NPAs.

Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29–30)

• Protection of language, script and culture of minorities (Article 29).

Only Statement 2 is correct.

Graphene has the potential to absorb and dissipate electromagnetic waves, making it valuable for developing stealth coatings and materials that reduce radar signatures and electromagnetic interference. Graphene is highly sensitive to environmental changes, which makes it an excellent candidate for sensing chemical and biological agents, explosives, radiation, and other hazardous substances. Besides, graphene-based materials can also protect us against chemical and biological attacks. Better energy storage and electronics properties make graphene attractive in defence and aerospace as well as in civil and commercial applications.

Among the leading countries in graphene research are China, the U.S., the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Singapore. Till 2012, graphene-related patent filing was dominated by the U.S. From 2013 to 2016, South Korea and China matched the U.S. After 2017, China surged ahead. In 2018, China filed 218 patents while the other leading countries together filed 79. India had eight filings.

China and Brazil are global leaders in the commercial production of graphene. 

• Iran and Afghanistan are locked in a long-standing dispute over the sharing of water from the Helmand River. 
• The Helmand is Afghanistan’s longest river. It originates near Kabul in the western Hindu Kush mountain range and flows in a southwesterly direction through desert areas for a total of about 1,150 kilometers (715 miles) before emptying into Lake Hamun, which straddles the Afghanistan-Iran border.
• Lake Hamun is the largest freshwater lake in Iran.

Statement 1 is incorrect.

In 2013, the Supreme Court, in a landmark verdict, introduced ‘None of the Above’ or NOTA to allow voters to cast a “negative vote” to reject all candidates as unworthy.

The court held that the right to vote as well as the right to say “none of the above” constituted a basic right of the voters, and said the option would foster “purity” and “vibrancy” in elections.

The main objective of the ‘NOTA’ option is to enable electors who do not wish to vote for any of the candidates to exercise their right to reject without violation of the secrecy of their decision. The voter must be eligible to register a vote of rejection if they feel that the contesting candidates do not deserve to be voted for. The Right to vote granted to all citizens must allow the vote of disapproval.

This symbol appears in the last panel on all Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).