Daily Current Affairs MCQ - April 8, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

• India is also a member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). 

• IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). 

• It is a global standard-setting authority responsible for improving the safety and security of international shipping and preventing marine and atmospheric pollution by ships.

• The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has launched "Sankalp se Siddhi" - Village and Digital Connect Drive. 

• This drive aims to activate the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) in the villages. 

  • The drive will entail 150 teams (10 in each region from TRIFED and State Implementation Agencies/Mentoring Agencies/Partners) visiting ten villages.

  • Thus, 100 villages in each region and 1500 villages will be covered.

  • The visiting teams will also identify locations and shortlist potential Van Dhan Vikas Kendras for clustering as TRIFOOD, and SFURTI units as larger enterprises.

• Recently, Indian Navy Ships INS Satpura and INS Kiltan and P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft are participating, for the first time in multilateral maritime exercise La Pérouse, being conducted in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region from 5th to 7th April 2021.

• The first edition of La Pérouse joint exercise, initiated by France in 2019, included ships from Australia, Japan and the US.

  • India's participation in 2021 completed the QUAD force representation in the French led La Pérouse.

• Post conduct of La Perouse, the Indo-French Naval exercise "Varuna "is scheduled in the Western Indian Ocean, wherein the UAE will participate. 

• The stark difference is Racism and Xenophobia is that Racism is discrimination based on physical characteristics whereas xenophobia is discrimination based on the perception that someone is foreign or originating from another community or nation. 

  • The word Xenophobia originates from the Greek word Xeno.

  • Xenophobia and Racism are often overlapped.

• Article 15, Article 16 and Article 29 of India's Constitution prohibit discrimination on ground of "race". 

  • Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) also refers to "race".

  • Article 24 of the Indian Constitution deals with Prohibition of Child Labour.

• India also ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in 1968.

• The National Security Act, 1980 is a preventive detention law. 

  • Preventive Detention involves the detainment of a person to keep him/her from committing future crimes and from escaping future prosecution.

  • Article 22 (3) (b) of the Constitution allows for preventive detention and restriction on personal liberty for state security and public order.

• The NSA empowers the Centre or a State government to detain a person to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to national security.

• The maximum period for which one may be detained is 12 months. But the term can be extended if the government finds fresh evidence. 

Both the statements are correct.

• In the Menaka case (1978), the Supreme Court overruled its judgement in the Gopalan case by taking a wider interpretation of the Article 21. Therefore, it ruled that a law can deprive the right to life and personal liberty of a person provided the procedure prescribed by that law is reasonable, fair and just.

• In other words, it has introduced the American expression 'due process of law'. In effect, the protection under Article 21 should be available not only against arbitrary executive action but also against arbitrary legislative action.

• Further, the court held that the 'right to life' as embodied in Article 21 is not merely confined to animal existence or survival but it includes within its ambit the right to live with human dignity and all those aspects of life which go to make a man's life meaningful, complete and worth living.

• It also ruled that the expression 'Personal Liberty' in Article 21 is of the widest amplitude and it covers a variety of rights that go to constitute the personal liberties of a man.

Minister for Education (India) addressed the consultation meeting of Education Ministers of E9 countries on E9 initiative: Scaling up digital learning to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Quality Education.

• Spearheaded by the United Nations (UN), the E9 Partnership was first established in 1993.

• E9 Countries include Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

• The initiative aims to advance the Sustainable Development Goal 4 agenda by driving rapid change in education systems in three of the 2020 Global Education Meeting priorities: (i) support to teachers; (ii) investment in skills; and (iii) narrowing of the digital divide.

The Union Cabinet has approved the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy's proposal for implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 'National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV (Photo Voltic) Modules' for achieving manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt (GW) scale in high efficiency solar PV modules with an outlay of Rs.4,500 crore.

• Solar PV manufacturers will be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process.

• PLI will be disbursed for 5 years post commissioning of solar PV manufacturing plants, on sales of high efficiency solar PV modules.

The outcomes/ benefits expected from the scheme are as follows:

• Additional 10,000 MW capacity of integrated solar PV manufacturing plants,

• Direct investment of around Rs.17,200 crore in solar PV manufacturing projects

• Demand of Rs.17,500 crore over 5 years for 'Balance of Materials',

• Direct employment of about 30,000 and Indirect employment of about1,20,000 persons,

• Import substitution of around Rs.17,500 crore every year, and

• Impetus to Research & Development to achieve higher efficiency in solar PV modules.

Prime Minister Modi will release the Hindi translation of the book 'Odisha Itihaas' written by 'Utkal Keshari' Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab on 9th April 2021.

• The book, available in Odia and English so far, has been translated into Hindi by Shri. Shankarlal Purohit.

• Harekrushna Mahtab Foundation has organised the event marking the release of the Hindi version.

• Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab was a notable figure in the Indian Independence Movement.

• He also served as Chief Minister of Odisha from 1946 to 1950 and from 1956 to 1961.

• He wrote the book 'Odisha Itihaas' in Ahmednagar Fort Jail, where he was imprisoned for more than two years during 1942-1945.