Current Affairs Mock Test 1 - UPSC MCQ

About Ken- Betwa project: 

• Conceived as a two-part project, this is the country’s first river interlinking project. 
• It is perceived as a model plan for similar interstate river transfer missions. 
• The project aims to transfer surplus water from the Ken river in MP to Betwa in UP to irrigate the drought-prone Bundelkhand region spread across the districts of two states mainly Jhansi, Banda, Lalitpur and Mahoba districts of UP and Tikamgarh, Panna and Chhatarpur districts of MP. 
• Key facts: 

1. Ken and Betwa rivers originate in MP and are the tributaries of Yamuna. 
2. Ken meets with Yamuna in Banda district of UP and with Betwa in Hamirpur district of UP. 
3. Rajghat, Paricha and Matatila dams are over Betwa river. 
4. Ken River passes through Panna tiger reserve.

It is due to the fact that when price of crude oil increases, then the price of petroleum products also increases. Therefore, their demand gets lowered. So GDP rate decreases. As India is a major importer of petroleum products, therefore India's trade also gets affected and there is also rise in inflation.

• The Commonwealth Nations was found in 1931.
• In 1947 India and Pakistan became members of the Commonwealth, the first with chiefly non-European populations.
• It is not necessary that all its members must be former colonies of British empire.

The President and Chief Justice of India are the only officials that can be removed from their posts by Impeachment or Impeachment like process.

Reverse Repo Rate is lower than Repo Rate because RBI cannot pay greater interest on deposits than charge interest on loans. This is to facilitate cash flow from RBI to commercial banks, which in turn will increase the purchasing power of the market.

According to this, correct answer is B.

A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at the bottom of the frame, positioning the neck directly below the blade. 

Guillotine refers to the exercise vide which the Speaker of the House, on the very last day of the period allotted for discussions on the Demands for Grants, puts to vote all outstanding Demands for Grants at a time specified in advance. The aim of the exercise is to conclude discussions on financial proposals within the time specified.

All outstanding Demands for Grants must be voted by the House without discussions once the guillotine is invoked.

Once the pre-specified time for invoking the guillotine is reached, the member who is in possession of the house at that point in time, is requested by the Speaker to resume his or her seat following which Demands for Grants under discussion are immediately put to vote. Thereafter, all outstanding Demands are guillotined.

Invoking the guillotine ensures timely passage of the Finance Bill and the conclusion of debates and discussions on the year’s Budget.

In June, a military standoff occurred between India and China in the disputed territory of Doklam, near the Doka La pass. On June 16, 2017, the Chinese brought heavy road building equipment to the Doklam region and began constructing a road in the disputed area

In a fresh incident of friction, the Chinese military last month strongly protested against the Indian Army's “transgression” into the strategically sensitive Asaphila area along the disputed border in Arunachal Pradesh, but India rejected the complaint, official sources said.

The LAC mostly passes on the land, but Pangong Tso is a unique case where it passes through the water as well. The points in the water at which the Indian claim ends and Chinese claim begins are not agreed upon mutually. Most of the clashes between the two armies occur in the disputed portion of the lake

• The IEF member countries account for more than 90 percent of global oil and gas supply and demand.
• The headquarter of this organization is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• In National Current Affairs, India hosted 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial Meeting from 10-12th April 2018 in New Delhi.

The WTO deals with regulation of trade in goods, services and intellectual property between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments

Eight Core Industries are Electricity, steel, refinery products, crude oil, coal, cement, natural gas and fertilizers.

The May 1, 1886, labor action wasn’t just any strike—it was part of what became known as the Haymarket affair. On May 1 of that year, Chicago (along with other cities) was the site of a major union demonstration in support of the eight-hour workday.

Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) is located in the Reserved Forests spread in West Siang, Upper Siang and Dibang valley of the Arunachal Pradesh State. It is also called as Dehang-Debang Biosphere Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Reserve Forest that is spread in the three districts, West Siang, Upper Siang and Dibang valley was first identified as a biosphere reserve in Arunachal Pradesh. Later the government of Arunachal Pradesh constituted the biosphere reserve as Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve in the year 1998 to protect various endangered species of plants, trees, animals and birds in Arunachal Pradesh. An important fact relating to this Biosphere reserve is that it has natural vegetation stretching in an unbroken sequence from the tropics to mountain tundra.

Making their living primarily off of fishing, the Bajau people live on long houseboats known as lepas. Residing primarily on the waters off Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Phillippines, they usually come ashore to trade or seek shelter during storms.

The Union Budget is presented by the Union Finance Minister.

hree Buddhist Circuits have been identified by the Ministry of Tourism in the country to be developed with the help of Central Government/State Government/Private Stake Holders.  These include the following:-

Circuit 1:        The Dharmayatra or the Sacred Circuit

 This will be a 5 to 7 days circuit and will include visits to Gaya (Bodhgaya), Varanasi (Sarnath), Kushinagar, Piparva (Kapilvastu) with a day trip to Lumbini in Nepal.

Circuit 2:        Extended Dharmayatra or Extended Sacred Circuit or Retracing Buddha’s Footsteps

This will be a 10 to 15 day circuit and will include visits to Bodhgaya (Nalanda, Rajgir, Barabar caves, Pragbodhi Hill, Gaya), Patna (Vaishali, Lauriya Nandangarh, Lauriya Areraj, Kesariya, Patna Museum), Varanasi (Sarnath), Kushinagar, Piparva (Kapilvastu, Shravasti, Sankisa) with a day trip to Lumbini in Nepal

Circuit 3:        Buddhist Heritage Trails (State Circuits)

1. Jammu and Kashmir - Ladakh, Srinagar (Harwan, Parihaspora) and Jammu (Ambaran).

ii.         Himachal Pradesh - Dharamshala, Spiti, Kinnaur and Lahaul.

iii.        Punjab - Sanghon.

iv.        Haryana – Jind (Assan), Yamunanagar(Sugh).

v.         Maharashtra -Aurangabad (Ajanta, Ellora, Pithalkora Caves), Pune (Karla Caves), Mumbai (Kanheri Caves), Pune (Bhaja Caves) and Nashik (Pandavleni Caves).

vi.        Andhra Pradesh - Amravati, Nagarjunakonda, Vizag (Borra Caves, Salihundum Caves).

vii.       Madhya Pradesh - Sanchi, Satdhara, Andher, Sonari, Murulkurd.

viii.      Odisha (Dhauli, Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri, Udaygiri, Langudi, Khandagiri).

ix.        Chhattisgarh – Sirpur.

x.         West Bengal - Kolkata (Indian Museum)

xi.        Sikkim - Rumtek, Enchay and other Monasteries.

xii.       Arunachal Pradesh –Tawang and Bomdila.

The Nordic countries are generally considered to refer to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

It was India's best position since the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which they hosted.

Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) is a revamped version of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) and covers various projects to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system in the country. The primary aim of RGSA is strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The components for which support is extended under the programme include the following:

1. Capacity building for strengthening Panchayati Raj

2. Development of institutional capability for training

3. Implementation of PESA

4. E- governance support structures

Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958 is an act of the Parliament of India that grant special powers to the Indian Armed Forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”.
It is effective in the whole of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding seven assembly constituencies of Imphal) and parts of Arunachal Pradesh.
 

• A judge may be removed from office through a motion adopted by Parliament on grounds of ‘proven misbehaviour or incapacity’.
• The Constitution provides that a judge can be removed only by an order of the President, based on a motion passed by both Houses of Parliament. 

• Cambridge Analytica Ltd (CA) was a British political consulting firm which combined misappropriation of digital assets, data mining, data brokerage, and data analysis with strategic communication during the electoral processes.
• The company closed operations in 2018 in the course of the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal, although related firms still exist.

The correct option is Option A.

The Directive Principles of State Policy aims to create social and economic conditions under which the citizens can lead a good life. They also aim to establish social and economic democracy through a welfare state.

A cantonment board is a civic administration body in India under control of the Ministry of Defence.

The expenditure incurred in premium payment will be shared between central and state governments in a specified ratio: 60:40 for all states and UTs .

On 31 January, 2019, China stated that India must sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty before China will allow India to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, halting further progress for India’s admittance to the group.