MCQ - Current Affairs (January - 2020) - UPSC MCQ

Senna spectabilis belongs to Fabaceae family, and is grown as ornamental plant across tropical America. It can grow 7 – 18 metres tail; is evergreen in climates with rain all year round, but can become deciduous in some regions, and produces yellow flowers. Spectabilis has been commonly used in traditional medicine for many years. Information in the biomedical literature has indicated the presence of a variety of medicinally-important chemical constituent. Pharmacological studies by various groups of investigators have shown that it possesses significant biological activity, such as antibacterial, antibiofilm, antifungal and antioxidant propertiesHowever, it is considered an environmental weed by the Global Compendium of Weeds. It grows extremely fast, flowers and sets seed profusely, and re-sprouts immediately when cut. In places like Australia, Uganda, and Cuba this species is considered as invasive. Now it has made its way to Indian forests, especially South India. It takes around 2-3 years for the plant to grow from a sapling to a tree. In about two years, the trees start to flower. One young tree can produce around 6000 seeds every season. Survival rate of these seeds are 95-99% and they can survive for 8-9 years in soil. Also, it has been noticed that if you debark a Senna tree it suddenly starts flowering just for survival! An activist group – Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi led by the Conservationist N Badusha first took this issue of the invasive species Senna up to the Kerala Forest Department. During the same period, Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) did an extensive study on this issue. KFRI studies have established that in and around Muthanga and Tholpetty eco centers, around 10% area of open spaces, which is about 2% of total area of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, is infected by Senna spectabilis. KFRI has developed very effective way of removal method of Senna spectabilis.

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) is a credit linked subsidy programme introduced by the government of India in 2008. The programme is a merger of two schemes namely Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojna and Rural Employment Generation Programme. The program focuses on generating self-employment opportunities through micro-enterprise establishments in the non-farm sector by helping unemployed youth and traditional artisans. The Ministry of MSME administers the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). The PMEGP Scheme is being implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) at the national level.

The famous 11-day long ‘Dhanu Jatra’, considered as the largest open-air theatre of the world begins at Bargarh in western Odisha today. The Jatra is based on the mythological story of Lord Krishna and his demon uncle King Kansa. It is about the episode of Krishna and Balaram's visit to Mathura to witness the Dhanu ceremony organized by their (maternal) uncle King Kansa. Dhanu Jatra is the annual drama-based open-air theatrical performance celebrated in and around Bargarh city is considered to be the world’s largest open-air theatrical festival that finds a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records. The play starts with the dethroning of the emperor Ugrasena by the angry prince Kansa, over the marriage of his sister Devaki with Basudeba, and ends with the death of Kansa, and Ugrasen restoring back to become the king. During Dhanu Jatra, King Kansa moves around the city and slaps fine on offenders on the streets. He also enters government offices and pulls up officials for lapses. People become his obedient subjects. Ministers, bureaucrats, and police officials appear before the demon King during the 11-day yatra and act as per the direction of the King.

Continuing a 29-year unbroken practice, India and Pakistan on Wednesday exchanged a list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral arrangement that prohibits them from attacking each other's atomic facilities. The agreement was signed in 1988 and came into force in 1991. It mandates India and Pakistan to refrain from the undertaking, encouraging or participating in any action aimed at causing the destruction or damage to any nuclear installation or facility in the other country. And inform each other of nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the agreement on the first of January of every calendar year.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas signed contracts for 7 blocks, awarded under Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) Bid Round - IV.

Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP):

-Launched in 2016, OALP, is a part of Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP).

-It is aimed at enabling faster survey and assessment of areas with oil and gas potential.

-It enables companies apply for particular areas they deem to be attractive to invest in, and the Centre then puts those areas up for bids.

Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP): Introduced in 2016, it is a contractual and fiscal model for award of hydrocarbon acreages towards exploration and production (E&P).

Major Characteristic Features

-Single License for both conventional and unconventional Hydrocarbons

-Transition from Cost Recovery mechanism to Revenue Sharing mechanism.

-Full Marketing & Pricing Freedom

-Low regulatory burden

-Fiscal incentives provided to investors

Implementing Agency: Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

The third Khelo India youth games will be held in Guwahati between 10th and 22nd JanuaryThese are the national level multidisciplinary grassroots level games held as a part of Khelo India programme. It was launched in 2017 by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level and achieve sporting excellence. Under the scheme, talented players identified in priority sports disciplines are provided financial assistance of INR 5 lakh per annum for 8 years to prepare them for the international sporting events.

The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 is a National Mission document providing the vision and the roadmap for the faster adoption of electric vehicles and their manufacturing in the country. As part of the NEMMP 2020, Department of Heavy Industry formulated a Scheme viz. Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme in the year 2015 to promote manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicle technology and to ensure sustainable growth of the same.

The population of the saltwater or estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) has increased in the water bodies of Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park and its nearby areas in Kendrapara district, with forest officials counting 1,757 individuals in this year’s annual reptile census on January 3, 2020. It is in Kendrapara district of Odisha. It is inundated by the rivers Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra, Pathsala. It is the second-largest mangrove ecosystem in India, the first being Sundarbans (West Bengal). It has been designated as a Ramsar Site.

CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) has developed a new low-cost technology to produce Geranium saplings. Geranium plant is originally from South Africa and is predominantly used in manufacturing essential oils. It acts as an antiinflammatory and antiseptic agent. It also has several medicinal values. In India, the plant is cultivated in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and North Eastern Regions.

The Exercise Naseem-Al-Bahr (sea breeze) is a naval exercise between the Indian Navy and Oman. The exercise is being conducted since 1993. The exercise will have two phases namely the harbour phase in Goa followed by sea phase off the Goa coast. During the harbour phase, the countries will conduct subject matter expert exchanges on professional topics. On the other hand, sea phase will have reciprocal receptions and planning conferences. Recently, Oman ships have arrived in Goa to participate in Naseem Al Bahr the Indo-Oman bilateral naval exercise.

Samsung-backed Star Labs has unveiled Neon, the world's first "artificial humans". Neon is a humanoid AI chatbot. It aims to deliver a personalised experience with an AI. It has the ability to show emotions and intelligence.

Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC)

-It is a body under ISRO to coordinate Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.

-It will be established in three years at Challakere (“Science City”), in Chitradurga district of Karnataka.

-At present, it works from a temporary place at the ISRO Headquarters, Antariksh Bhavan, Bengaluru.

Functions

-Pursuing future human space missions, 

-Developing engineering systems for survival and safe return of the crew from space,

-Selecting and training astronauts.

China and Pakistan are holding nine-day naval exercise in the northern Arabian Sea. The naval exercise has been named “Guardians of Sea”. It aims to enhance allweather strategic partnership between China and Pakistan.

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the Agreement on cooperation in polar science between India and Sweden.

About the agreement

-The agreement between India and Sweden in polar science will enable sharing of the expertise available with both Countries.

-The agreement becomes significant as both India and Sweden are signatories to the Antarctic Treaty and the Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection.

-Sweden is also one of the eight Arctic States and is one of the Member State in the Arctic Council whereas India has the Observer Status in the Arctic Council.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a Capital Grant as the Viability Gap Funding to Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd for setting up the North East Natural Gas Pipeline Grid. This viability gap funding would be capped at 60 per cent of the estimated cost of ₹9,265 crore (including interest during construction) for the project. “The quantum of VGF would be capped at 60 per cent of the estimated project cost and would not be linked with upward capital cost variation,” an official statement said. “A total of ₹5,559 crore has been earmarked as VGF. As per the plan, a 1,656-km gas pipeline grid would connect the eight states of the North-Eastern region, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura,” Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan said.

Union Minister for Home Affairs inaugurated the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and also dedicated National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to the Nation.

Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)

-It was approved in 2018 to combat cybercrime in India in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.

-It functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is located in New Delhi.

-It has seven components like the National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit, National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and National Cybercrime Forensic Laboratory Ecosystem etc.

National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

-It is a citizen-centric initiative that will enable citizens to report cybercrimes online through the portal.

-All the cybercrime related complaints will be accessed by the concerned law enforcement agencies in the States and Union Territories for taking action as per law.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released a survey on the world's fastest-growing urban areas in the World. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) was created in 1946.It is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group and the world leader in global business intelligence.

About the Survey

-The survey was based on the United Nations (UN) Populations data.

-The survey has defined urban area as (a)All places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board among others (b) Areas with a minimum population of 5,000 (c) Areas where at least 75% male working population are engaged in non-agriculture work and (d) Areas with a population density of 400 persons/sq.km.

Artemis is NASA’s human lunar exploration program. Through this program, NASA envisions sending astronauts to the lunar south pole by 2024 and eventually establishing a permanent presence on the Moon

The fast-rising prices of food articles, especially those of vegetables such as onions and potatoes, have been ruining household budgets across the country. But an effective scheme run by the West Bengal government has meant that many consumers, especially those belonging to the lower-income group, in Kolkata and some nearby cities have been shielded from the spike in food inflation.
The Sufal Bangla scheme, which involves fair-price stalls and counters across the city, allows people to procure vegetables at affordable prices. At a Sufal Bangla stall onions are retailing at Rs 59 per kg and potatoes for Rs 17 per kg. There are 144 such stalls in the state, 116 of which are in Kolkata, including both permanent and mobile ones.

About the IRAD:

-The Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD) has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) and will be implemented by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

-The database will help in analysing causes of road crashes and in devising safety interventions to reduce such accidents in the country.

-The system will be first piloted in the six States with highest fatalities from road crashes namely Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

-The IRAD will then be improved on the basis of the learning from the trial following which it will be rolled out across the country.

Taal Volcano:

-It is located on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines.

-It is classified as a “complex” volcano.

Volcano: A volcano on Earth is a vent or fissure in the planet's crust through which lava, ash, rock, and gases erupt

Major Types of Volcano

-Cinder cone volcanoes (also called scoria cones): Occur as single volcanoes or as secondary volcanoes known as "parasitic cones" on the sides of composite or shield volcanoes. Example: Mt Tabor, Mt Zion

-Complex/ Stratovolcano: built of layers of the alternating lava flow, ash, and blocks of unmelted stone. They result from a conduit system of vents leading from a magma reservoir beneath the surface. Vesuvius, Taal, Mt Fuji, Mt Cotopaxi.

-Shield volcanoes: huge, gently sloping volcanoes built of very thin lava spreading out in all directions from a central vent. Example: Mauna Loa in Hawaii

At the 93rd edition of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan,a resolution was passed demanding the declaration of Marathi as a ‘Classical’ language.
Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status namely Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
Guidelines for declaring a classical language:

-High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500 -2000 years;

-A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers; 

-The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;

-The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

World Bank released Women Business and the Law (WBL) 2020 index which measures economic empowerment of women. It uses 8 indicators to measure legal differences between men and women as they transition through different stages of working life.

Key takeaways from Women Business and the Law (WBL) 2020 index

-Countries that score 100 on the Women, Business and the Law index: Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Sweden.

-The economies that improved the most are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, and South Sudan.

-India scored 74.4 and ranked 117th among 190 countries.

The US has removed China as a currency manipulator as the two countries are preparing to sign a trade deal.
About Currency manipulator:

-Currency manipulation happens when governments try to artificially tweak the exchange rate to gain an unfair advantage in trade.

-US defines currency manipulation as when countries deliberately influence the exchange rate between their currency and the US dollar to gain unfair competitive advantage in international trade.

Criteria for designation as a currency manipulator: The US Treasury has established three criteria for currency manipulator which are

-A significant bilateral trade surplus with the US is one that is at least $20 billion.

-A material current account surplus is one that is at least 3% of GDP.

-A persistent, one-sided intervention reflected in repeated net purchases of foreign currency and total at least 2% of an economy’s GDP over a year.

National Crime Records Bureau released data on environmental crimes in Annual Crime in India report 2018.

Key takeaways

-Environmental crimes dropped 17% in 2018

-Tamil Nadu topped the list, followed by Rajasthan and Kerala

-almost two-thirds of such violations were that of the cigarette and tobacco-related law

Environmental Crimes

The offences related to eight acts:

-The Forest Act, 1927: It consolidates the law related to forest, the transit of forest produce, and the duty liable on timber and other forest produce

-The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: It provides for protection of plants and animal species.

-The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986: It relates to the protection and improvement of the human environment and the prevention of hazards to human beings, other living creatures, plants and property.

-The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981: It provides for the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.

-The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974: It is a comprehensive legislation that regulates agencies responsible for checking on water pollution

-The Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003: It prohibits advertisement of cigarettes and other tobacco products in India. Smoking in public places (including indoor workplaces) is prohibited

-The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Act, 2010: It established NGT to handle the expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental issues

-Central and state noise pollution acts