MCQ - Current Affairs (July - 2019) - UPSC MCQ

GST was introduced in July 2017 by the GOI. Recently the centre government celebrates two years of GST. GST is a game changer for the Indian economy as it has replaced a multilayered complex indirect tax structure with a simple, transparent and technology driven tax regime.

Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) including Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is a group of clinically similar neurologic manifestation caused by several different viruses, bacteria, fungus, parasites, spirochetes, chemical/ toxins etc. There is seasonal and geographical variation in the causative organism. The outbreak of JE usually coincides with the monsoon and post monsoon period when the density of mosquitoes increases while encephalitis due to other viruses specially entero-viruses occurs throughout the year as it is a water borne disease. AES including JE is reported mainly from Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh which contributes approximately 80% of cases and deaths respectively with a case fatality rate ranging from 20 to 25%. Specific anti-viral drug for AES including Japanese Encephalitis is not available till date and cases are managed symptomatically.

Polavaram Project is located in Andhra Pradesh on the river Godavari, near Polavaram village about 34 Km upstream of Kovvur, Rajahmundry and 42 Km upstream of (Godavari Barrage) Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage. It is a multi-purpose irrigation project as the project once completed will provide Irrigation benefits for the upland areas of East Godavari, Visakhapatnam Districts under Left Canal and West Godavari, Krishna Districts under Right Canal and will generate 960 MW of Hydro Electric Power. In addition, this project will supply 23.4TMC of drinking water to Visakhapatnam city and also to Vizag steel plant through its left canal. It will also facilitate an inter-basin transfer of 80TMC annually to the Krishna river basin through its Right canal. It will also provide indirect benefits such as development of Pisciculture, tourism and urbanisation.

The government launched a water conservation scheme that would focus on renovation of water bodies, regulating industrial consumption, harvesting rainwater and reuse of wastewater. The Jal Shakti Abhiyan, which aims to provide piped water to every household within the next five years.
The launch of the scheme comes at a time every fifth block in the country faces scarcity of water, while per-capita availability has fallen from 1,816 cubic metres in 2001 to 1,544 cubic metres in 2011.
India has 2.45 per cent of the world‘s landmass supporting 16 per cent of the world‘s population whereas the freshwater resources are only 4 per cent of that of the world. The average annual precipitation, including snowfall, received in the country is 4000 Billion Cubic metre (BCM). Of this, the average annual water availability in the river systems of the country is assessed at 1,869 BCM. The usable surface water is 690 BCM and replenish-able groundwater is 432 BCM. Thus total usable water is around 1,122 BCM. India is rich in surface water resources. Average annual rainwater discharge into river is about 1880 BCM, which is about 1/3rd of the total rainfall. Because of temporal and spatial variation of rainfall pattern in the country, some part experience drought and while in other parts, there may be severe flood at a time. Thus water resource management will be a great challenge for India in future (Table 6.7). In India over 75% available fresh water is used in agricultural practices. Such a demand for agricultural irrigation needs to be reviewed and efficient irrigation planning, crop scheduling and use of wastewater irrigation in agriculture should be examined seriously.

In November 2016, over 100 jurisdictions concluded negotiations on the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ("Multilateral Instrument" or "MLI") that will swiftly implement a series of tax treaty measures to update international tax rules and lessen the opportunity for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises. The MLI already covers 89 jurisdictions and entered into force on 1st July 2018. On 25th June, 2019, India has deposited the instrument of ratification to OECD, Paris along with its final position in terms of Covered Tax Agreements (CTAs), reservations, options and notifications under the MLI, as a result of which MLI will enter into force for India on October 1, 2019 and its provisions will have effect on India‘s DTAAs from FY20-21 onwards.

The code on wages bill was tabled in lok sabha in August 2017, and it was referred to the standing committee that had given its comments to the labor ministry. The Bill had proposed empowering the states to fix different minimum wages based on geography, skill and occupation, along with a national-level minimum wage which will act as a floor. At present, the Centre fixes a National Floor-Level Minimum Wage – a non-statutory measure to ensure that states fix their minimum wages beyond this floor level. The Code on Wages Bill will combine four labor laws — Payment of Wages Act, 1936, Minimum Wages Act, 1948, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a working group to review the regulatory and supervisory framework for core investment companies (CIC). The group will be headed by Tapan Ray, non-executive chairman, Central Bank of India and former Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Over the years, corporate group structures have become more complex, involving multiple layering and leveraging, which has led to greater interconnectedness with the financial system through their access to public funds, the RBI said regarding the objective behind forming the panel. Further, in the light of recent developments, there is a need to strengthen the corporate governance framework of CICs, it the RBI said. Troubled financial conglomerate Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services is registered with the RBI as a CIC.

Recovery by financial creditors has seen a significant rise after the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) kicked in compared with the previous recovery regimes like Debt Recovery Tribunal, Lok Adalat and SARFAESI Act, the Economic Survey for 2018-19 pointed out. Between 2007 and 2017, recovery from all those other sources was 23% while the same was 43% under the IBC between 2017-19. ―These earlier mechanisms have resulted in an average recovery of 23% to lenders as against nearly 43% under the IBC,‖ the Survey said. The overall recovery in resolved cases is nearly ₹74,497 crore for the financial creditors, which is 194% of the liquidation value. The IBC was introduced to tackle the stressed asset problem of banks that almost touched close to ₹13 lakh crore by the end of March 2018. The financial creditors have been provided with greater role and powers through the committee of creditors under the IBC process. 

While the confirmation of such a system thriving under Mamata‘s rule came when the CM herself asked her party workers and leaders to refund the cut money, a report by The Indian Express has now given out details of how it functioned. According to report of Indian express, every citizen in west Bengal who avail the benefits of social welfare scheme need to pay 1 to 10% of amount what they received. 

SAMARTH Udyog Bharat 4.0 is an Industry 4.0 initiative of Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industry & Public Enterprises, Government of India under its scheme on Enhancement of Competitiveness in Indian Capital Goods Sector.
SAMARTH Udyog encompasses manufacturers, vendors and customers as the main stakeholders. The experiential and demonstration centres for Industry 4.0 have been proposed to spread awareness about I4.0 amongst the Indian manufacturing industries.
Vision: To facilitate and create eco system for propagation of Industry 4.0 set of technologies in every Indian manufacturing by 2025, be it MNC, large, medium or small scale Indian company.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) is the leading UN entity on human rights. The General Assembly entrusted both the High Commissioner and her Office with a unique mandate to promote and protect all human rights for all people. The United Nations human rights programme aims to ensure that the protection and enjoyment of human rights is a reality in the lives of all people. UN Human Rights also plays a crucial role in safeguarding the integrity of the three interconnected pillars of the United Nations – peace and security, human rights and development. UN Human Rights provides assistance in the form of technical expertise and capacitydevelopment in order to support the implementation of international human rights standards on the ground. It assists governments, which bear the primary responsibility for the protection of human rights, to fulfil their obligations and supports individuals to claim their rights. Moreover, it speaks out objectively on human rights violations. 

Beijing has one of the most advanced moon programmes. Its Chang‘e missions, named after the Chinese moon goddess, began in 2007. Since then, China has put two spacecraft in lunar orbit (Chang‘e 1 and 2) and landed two rovers on the moon (Chang‘e 3 and 4). Chang‘e 4 had the distinction of being the first landing on the far side of the moon that can‘t be seen from the earth. Beijing has sent a prototype capsule (Chang‘e 5 T1) to rehearse brining lunar material back to the earth. Chang‘e 5, set for launch later this year, will do precisely that. China is expected to land crews to the moon in the early 2030s.

Plan Bee, an amplifying system imitating the buzz of a swarm of honey bees to keep wild elephants away from railway tracks. The device was subsequently designed to generate the amplified sound of honey bees audible from 700-800metres. The first instrument was installed at a level crossing west of Guwahati on a track adjoining the Rani Reserve Forest, an elephant habitat. 

The Dangaria Kandha or Dongria Kondh people are members of the Kondhs. They are located in the Niyamgiri hills in the state of Odisha. They sustain themselves from the resources of the Niyamgiri forests, practising horticulture and shifting cultivation. They have been at the centre of a dispute over mining rights in the area. In 1997 Sterlite Industries, a part of the Vedanta Resources group, put forward proposals to construct an aluminium refinery at the nearby location of Lanjigarh and to extract bauxite from the Niyamgiri Hills. This was opposed by Dongria Kondh tribe and the proposal was later put on hold by Government. 

The Constitution of India made special provisions for 12 states in India. Part XXI and Part XXII of the Indian Constitution guarantees temporary, transitional and special provisions for the states of India. Article 371-A to 371-J deal with the Special Provisions for the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka. The reason for these provisions was to meet to the needs and aspirations of the backward regions of the states, to protect their culture and economic interests, to deal with local challenges and to protect their customary laws. 

• Article 371 – Provision for Gujarat and Maharashtra · Article
• 371-D - Special Provisions for Andhra Pradesh
• Article 371-G - Provisions for Mizoram
• Article 371-H - Special provisions for Arunachal Pradesh
• Article 371-I - Special provision for Goa
• Article 370- special provision for Jammu and Kashmir. 

The global MPI was developed by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for inclusion in UNDP‘s flagship Human Development Report in 2010. It has been published in the HDR ever since. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) identifies multiple deprivations at the household and individual level in health, education and standard of living. It uses micro data from household surveys, and—unlike the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index—all the indicators needed to construct the measure must come from the same survey. Each person in a given household is classified as poor or non-poor depending on the weighted number of deprivations his or her household, and thus, he or she experiences. These data are then aggregated into the national measure of poverty. The MPI reflects both the incidence of multidimensional deprivation (a headcount of those in multidimensional poverty) and its intensity (the average deprivation score experienced by poor people). It can be used to create a comprehensive picture of people living in poverty, and permits comparisons both across countries, regions and the world and within countries by ethnic group, urban or rural location, as well as other key household and community characteristics. The MPI offers a valuable complement to income-based poverty measures. 

A small radiation leak from a Soviet nuclear submarine that sank 30 years ago has been found, Norwegian researchers said Thursday, but it poses no risk to people or fish. The institute said that findings were around 100 Becquerel (Bq) per liter as opposed to around 0.001 Bq per liter elsewhere in the Norwegian Sea. Several samples taken in and around a ventilation duct on the wreck of the submarine contained far higher levels of radioactive cesium than you would normally find in the Norwegian Sea, the institute said in a statement. 

The Special 301 Report identifies trading partners that do not adequately or effectively protect and enforce intellectual property (IP) rights or otherwise deny market access to U.S. innovators and creators that rely on protection of their IP rights. Trading partners that currently present the most significant concerns regarding IP rights are placed on the Priority Watch List or Watch List. USTR identified 36 countries for these lists in the Special 301 Report:

• Algeria, Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Venezuela are on the Priority Watch List.
• Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam are on the Watch List.

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow waterway separating the Atlantic Ocean (bottom left) from the Mediterranean Sea (top right). This 13-kilometer-wide waterway also separates Europe and Africa, with Spain and Gibraltar on the left and Morocco on the right. Until the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the Strait of Gibraltar served as the only access point to the Mediterranean Sea. During World War II, naval traffic through this strait was monitored by both Allied and Axis navies, as it served as a crucial ―chokepoint‖ for vessels traveling between the Atlantic and Mediterranean. High rates of evaporation in the relatively shallow Mediterranean basin cause the water to become saltier, and thereby denser, than the relatively fresh Atlantic water. As Atlantic water is forced through the narrow strait it accelerates and interacts with Mediterranean water. Internal waves (particularly those formed at depths of 60–80 meters) develop where these two different water masses interact. Large, tidally induced pulses of Atlantic water entering the Mediterranean can be seen here as a series of crescents emanating from the strait. These crescents result from interactions of these different water masses at depth.

The conviction of the Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda is cause for cautious optimism that perpetrators of serious crimes cannot escape justice, even where they have evaded domestic laws. Ntaganda, known as ―the terminator‖, was pronounced guilty of 13 counts of war crimes and five of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. These relate to the 2002-03 ethnic conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Effective conservation measures include both in situ habitat preservation, species protection and ex situ conservation (captive breeding in controlled environment to restock original wild populations). In order to support both these measures using biotechnological tools and techniques in an innovative manner, LaCONES was established. With support from Dept. of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India, New Delhi, Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA), New Delhi and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi and Government of Andhra Pradesh project LaCONES was established in 1998. The laboratory was itself established in 2007. This lab would strive to: ―To promote excellence in conservation biotechnology and serve for conservation of endangered wildlife in India‖.

Turing machines, first described by Alan Turing in Turing 1936-37, are simple abstract computational devices intended to help investigate the extent and limitations of what can be computed. Turing introduced Turing machines in the context of research into the foundations of mathematics. 

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) is one of India‘s manufacturers of ammunitions and missile systems. It was founded in 1970 in Hyderabad, Telangana.  BDL was established in the year 1970 to be a manufacturing base for guided weapon systems. Begun with a pool of engineers drawn from Indian Ordnance Factories, DRDO and aerospace industries, BDL began by producing a first generation anti-tank guided missile – the French SS11B1. This product was a culmination of a licence agreement the Government of India entered into with Aerospatiale. BDL has three manufacturing units, located at Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad, Telangana; Bhanur, Medak district, Telangana and Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Two New Units are planned at Ibrahimpatnam, Ranga Reddy district,Telangana and Amravati, Maharashtra. 

The iconic Blue Flag is one of the world‘s most recognized voluntary eco-labels awarded to beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators. In order to qualify for the Blue Flag, a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria must be met and maintained. The Blue Flag programme is operated under the auspices of the Foundation for Environmental Education and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

A committee set up to recommend the appropriate economic capital framework for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended the transfer of excess capital from the central bank to the government over 3 to 5 years. The Committee was headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan.