Daily Current Affairs MCQ - Feb 27, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Minister of Rural development inaugurated Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021 at Noida Haat.

• Ministry of Rural Development is working to include more women in Self Help Groups (SHGs). He said these SHGs played a vital role in increasing family income and improving quality of life.

• The Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021 is being organized from 26th February to 14th March 2021 by the Ministry of Rural Development.

• More than 300 rural self-help groups and craftsman from 27 states are participating in the Mela.

The National Board for Wildlife and Union Ministry of Environment included the caracal, a medium-sized wildcat found in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, in the list of critically endangered species.

• Though not under grave threat in its other habitats, the animal is on the verge of extinction in India, some experts believe. The recovery programme for critically endangered species in India now includes 22 wildlife species.

• Besides India, the caracal is found in several dozen countries across Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia. While it flourishes in parts of Africa, its numbers in Asia are declining.

• The wildcat has long legs, a short face, long canine teeth, and distinctive ears — long and pointy, with tufts of black hair at their tips.

• The iconic ears are what give the animal its name — caracal comes from the Turkish karakulak, meaning ‘black ears’.

• In India, it is called siya gosh, a Persian name that translates as ‘black Ear’. A Sanskrit fable exists about a small wild cat named deergha-karn or ‘long-eared’.

The other species are Snow Leopard, Bustard (including Floricans), Dolphin, Hangul, Nilgiri Tahr, Marine Turtles, Dugongs, Edible Nest Swiftlet, Asian Wild Buffalo, Nicobar Megapode, Manipur Brow-antlered Deer, Vultures, Malabar Civet, Indian Rhinoceros, Asiatic Lion, Swamp Deer and Jerdon’s Courser.

In the heart of Berlin, a new sacred building is coming up with the aim of bringing Christians, Jews and Muslims to a single place of worship.

• Called the House of One or, colloquially, Churmosquagogue, it incorporates a church, a mosque and a synagogue.

• The foundation stone will be laid on May 27 by people of these faiths.

• The meeting space at the centre of the building will be open to people of other faiths and world views as well as the secular urban society.

• The House of One is coming up on the site of the old St Peter’s Church, which was damaged in World War II and completely demolished by the government of East Germany in 1964.

Rising yields on government securities or bonds in the United States and India have triggered concern over the negative impact on other asset classes, especially stock markets, and even gold.

• Bond yield is the return an investor gets on that bond or on particular government security.

• The major factors affecting the yield is the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank of India, especially the course of interest rates, the fiscal position of the government and its borrowing programme, global markets, economy, and inflation.

• A fall in interest rates makes bond prices rise, and bond yields fall — and rising interest rates cause bond prices to fall, and bond yields to rise.

• In short, a rise in bond yields means interest rates in the monetary system have fallen, and the returns for investors (those who invested in bonds and govt securities) have declined.

• The yield on 10-year bonds in India moved up from the recent low of 5.76% to 6.20% in line with the rise in US yields, sending jitters through the stock market, where the benchmark Sensex fell 2,300 points last week.

Ghana has become the first country in the world to receive a shipment of coronavirus vaccines under the COVAX program.

• The COVAX program is led by the vaccine alliance GAVI, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in partnership with UNICEF, vaccine manufacturers and the World Bank, among others.

• The aim is to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally in what is being called the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history.

• The program wants to vaccinate roughly 20 per cent of the population in the 92 Advance Market Commitment (AMC) countries, which include middle and lower-income nations that cannot afford to pay for COVID-19 vaccines. This means countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of less than the US $4000 and some other countries which are eligible under the World Bank International Development Association (IDA).

• About 600,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune (the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world), were sent to Accra in Ghana on February 23.

• The AstraZeneca vaccine (known as Covishield in India) was given Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the WHO this month.

E-Daakhil portal for Consumer grievance redressal is now operational in 15 States/UTs. Department of Consumer Affairs is now proactively following up with the states to launch e-filing portal at their ends.

• E-filing was launched by National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on 7th September, 2020. Delhi was the first state to implement it on 8th September, 2020.

• The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which has come into force from 20th July, 2020, has provision for e-filing of consumer complaints in the Consumer Commissions and online payment of the fees for filing a complaint.

• A web application for E-filing of consumer complaints named “edaakhil.nic.in” has been developed by NIC for the purpose.

• This digital software for filing consumer complaints has the many features like e-Notice, case document download link & VC hearing link, filing written response by opposite party, fling rejoinder by complainant and alerts via SMS/Email.

Terming Tamil Nadu’s decision to utilise surplus water in the Cauvery basin ‘illegal’, Karnataka would approach the Supreme Court for a legal recourse.

• The decision follows Tamil Nadu’s move to lay foundation to the Cauvery-Vellaru-Vaigai-Gundar link scheme last Sunday. The link scheme proposes to utilise the surplus water in the Cauvery basin and transfer it to its Southern region.

• According to karnataka, It is not right on the part of Tamil Nadu to utilise surplus water before it is allocated. Under the provisions of The Inter State Water Disputes Act, it is illegal and cannot happen without proper allocation.

The most important tributaries are i) the Hemavathi, ii) the Kabini and iii) the Bhavani. Periyar is not a tributary of Cauvery.

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs inaugurated the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) Regional Office (South) in Chennai.

• A statutory body established under the provisions of The Competition Act, 2002.

• Established in: 2003.

• Composition: A Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.

• Headquarters: New Delhi.

• Preceding agency: Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission.

• Mandate: To implement provisions of The Competition Act, 2002 which –

  • prohibits anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position by enterprises

  • regulates mergers and acquisition (M&A) which can have an adverse effect on competition within India. Thus, deals beyond a certain threshold are required to get clearance from CCI.

Railway Minister flagged off Tanakpur (Uttarakhand)-Delhi Junction Special train. The train will connect Tanakpur with the national capital and bring socio-economic development in the region while pilgrims visiting Purnagiri temple will be benefitted with improved connectivity.

• On the Annapurna range, the temple of Shri Purnagiri organises the Purnagiri Mela in Uttarakhand on Navratri.

• The temple is situated at a distance of 20 kilometer from Tanakpur, on the right bank of the river Kali in the district of Champawat in Uttarakhand.

• On the Annapurna range, the temple of Shri Purnagiri organises the Purnagiri Mela in Uttarakhand on Navratri. These ranges offer exceptional scenic beauty. The temple is situated at a distance of 20 kilometer from Tanakpur, on the right bank of the river Kali in the district of Champawat.

• Purnagiri Devi temple is one of the 108 Siddha Peeths.

The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the Second Advance Estimates of National Income, 2020-21 at Constant (2011-12) and Current Prices.

• The growth in GDP during 2020-21 is estimated at -8.0 percent as compared to 4.0 percent in 2019-20.

• GDP at Current Prices in the year 2020-21 is estimated to grow at rate of -3.8 percent.

• The Per Capita Income in real terms (at 2011-12 Prices) during 2020-21 is estimated to attain a level of ₹ 85,929 as compared to ₹ 94,566 in the year 2019-20, giving a growth of -9.1 percent during 2019-20.

• The Per Capita Income at current prices during 2020-21 is estimated to be ₹ 127,768, showing a decline of 4.8 percent.

• Agriculture sector is estimated to see a growth of 3 per cent in 2020-21. However, it will be lower than 4.3 per cent growth recorded in 2019-20.

• Manufacturing sector is estimated to contract 8.4 per cent during FY21, while electricity is likely to grow at 1.8 per cent. Among services sectors, trade, hotel, transport are projected to contract 18 per cent.