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

• Agroforestry is growing crops and trees together on the same field.
  • It promotes both spatial and temporal diversity. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• Mostly temporal diversity is achieved through crop rotation as it is sequential cropping. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

• Project DANTAK was established on 24th April1961. It is one of the oldest Projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) commemorating its Diamond Jubilee in Bhutan. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It was a result of the visionary leadership of the third King of Bhutan and then Prime Minister of India Jawahar Lal Nehru.
  • DANTAK was tasked to construct the pioneering motorable roads. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• BRO was conceived and raised in 1960 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for coordinating the speedy development of a network of roads in the North and the North Eastern border regions of the country.
  • It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

• The Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has launched its Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) - PowerGrid Infrastructure Investment Trust (PGInvIT).
  • It is the first time a state-owned entity (PGCIL) is monetizing its infrastructure assets through the InvIT route.
  • This will be only the third InvIT to be listed in the Indian markets, after IRB InvIT and India Grid Trust, both of which went public in 2017. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • The InvIT route was proposed by the Centre as an alternative fundraising route for state-run companies to manage funding requirements without having to depend on government support.
• Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) is a public limited company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power.
  • It is the largest power transmission company in India.
  • It started its commercial operation in the year 1992-93 and is today, a Maharatna company. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• Recently, India has been ranked 49th in the Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI).
  • Finland has topped the list. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• The CGGI is released by the Chandler Institute of Governance which is a private nonprofit organization headquartered in Singapore. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • The Index classifies 104 countries in terms of government capabilities and outcomes.
• India’s Good Governance Index is launched by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions to determine the status of governance in the country. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
  • It assesses the impact of various interventions taken up by the State Government and UTs.

The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, northeast Germany, Poland, Russia and the North and Central European Plain.

Depreciation in the rupee impacts all expenditure in dollar terms— imports, foreign education, travel, investments abroad, medical treatment etc. On the other hand, if you are an exporter or an NRI sending money back home, depreciation would fetch you more rupees per dollar.

A depreciating rupee increases the cost of crude import, which accounts for almost 20% of India’s imports. A rise in cost of crude raises fuel prices and inflation. That, in turn, leads to a rise in interest rates, which increases our borrowing cost.

Afghanistan is a member of WTO, SAARC, Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and OIC. It holds an observer status in SCO.

South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) is an agreement reached on January 6, 2004, at the 12th SAARC summit in Islamabad, Pakistan. It created a free-trade area in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Bharat Biotech has announced the cost of COVAXIN for State governments and Private Hospitals.

It will cost 600 rupees per dose for State Governments and 1200 rupees per dose for Private Hospitals.

The price of vaccines for export is 15 to 20 dollars.

Professor HalilIbrahimi has discovered a new insect species named  Potamophylax coronavirus found in Kosovo’s western Bjeshket e Nemuna (Accursed Mountains) national park.

As an associate professor of the Natural Sciences Faculty at Pristina University, Prof Ibrahimi collected the species, which turned out to be endemic to the national park, 75 miles (120km) west of the capital Pristina, and found it was quite different from the other species in the Balkans.

It is considerably smaller, and lives in a different habitat, in open, high-altitude zones, some 2,000 metres (6,500ft) above sea level.

The ITTF World Table Tennis Championships, the Harris County  Houston Sports Authority has announced that it will host the event November 23–29, 2021, at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

It will be the first time the United States has hosted the tournament.

The rescheduled event will coincide with and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic mission between the United States and China that was dubbed “Ping Pong Diplomacy.”

The Decision was made at a meeting of the ITTF executive committee on April 11.