Daily Current Affairs MCQ - May 6, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

• Recently the United States has announced the support for waiving Intellectual Property (IP) protection for Covid-19 vaccines.
  • The decision is a breakthrough in India and South Africa's attempts to get World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries to agree to such a waiver to fight the pandemic equitably.
• Intellectual property rights (IPR) are the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names and images used in commerce. Hence, statements 1 is correct.
  • They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time.
• India is a member of the World Trade Organisation and committed to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS Agreement). Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• The TRIPS Agreement sets the minimum standards of protection for copyrights and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications (GIs), industrial designs, patents, integrated circuit layout designs, and undisclosed information. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • It establishes minimum standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) through civil actions for infringement, actions at the border,
    • and at least in regard to copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting, in criminal actions.

• The 102^nd Amendment Act of 2018 (and not 104th amendment) introduced Articles 338B and 342A in the Indian Constitution.
• Article 338B provides constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • Previously NCBC was a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Article 342A empowers the President (and not the Governor of state) to specify the socially and educationally backward communities in a State. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • It says that it is for the Parliament to include a community in the Central List for socially and backward classes for grant of reservation benefits.

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) was constituted following the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee report, in 1999. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry.
• The IRDAI was incorporated as a statutory body in April 2000. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The key objectives of the IRDA include the promotion of competition so as to enhance customer satisfaction through increased consumer choice and lower premiums while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market.
• It is headquartered in Hyderabad. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• In the Indira Sawhney judgment 1992, SC had categorically said 50% shall be the rule, only in certain exceptional and extraordinary situations for bringing far-flung and remote areas' population into mainstream said 50% rule can be relaxed.
• The Court upheld the government’s move and proclaimed that the advanced sections among the OBCs (i.e, the creamy layer) must be excluded from the list of beneficiaries of reservation. It also held that the concept of creamy layer must be excluded for SCs & STs.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is a treaty for conservation and sustainable use of such sites. It is named after Ramsar, the Iranian city where the treaty was signed in 1971, and places chosen for conservation under it are given the tag ‘Ramsar site.’

The convention, signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord for preserving the ecological character of wetlands.

Also known as the Convention on Wetlands, it aims to develop a global network of wetlands for conservation of biological diversity and for sustaining human life. Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.

Over 171 countries are party to the Ramsar Convention and over 2,300 designated sites have been recognised under it.

The Ramsar Convention works closely with six other organisations known as international organization partners (IOPs). These are:

• BirdLife International
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
• Wetlands International
• WWF International
• Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)

These organizations support the work of the convention by providing expert technical advice, helping implement field studies, and providing financial support. The IOPs also participate regularly as observers in all meetings of the conference of the parties and as full members of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel.

• The model code of conduct issued by the ECI is a set of guidelines meant for political parties, candidates and governments to adhere to during an election.
• This code is based on consensus among political parties.
• The code has been issued in exercise of its powers under Article 324.

The Depsang Plains represent a high-altitude gravelly plain at the northwest portion of the disputed Aksai Chin region of Kashmir, divided into Indian and Chinese administered portions across a Line of Actual Control. India controls the western portion of the plains as part of Ladakh, whereas the eastern portion is controlled by China and claimed by India.

Russia announced that it would be withdrawing from the International Space Station in 2025, and build and manage its own floating laboratory that will be launched into orbit by 2030.

A space station is essentially a large spacecraft that remains in low-earth orbit for extended periods of time. It is like a large laboratory in space, and allows astronauts to come aboard and stay for weeks or months to carry out experiments in microgravity.

The Mir space station of the former Soviet Union, and later operated by Russia, was functional from 1986 to 2001. The ISS has been in space since 1998, and has been known for the exemplary cooperation between the five participating space agencies that have been running it: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada).

The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements.

As per NASA, 243 people from 19 countries have so far visited the ISS, and the floating laboratory has hosted more than 3,000 research and educational investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas, carrying out cutting edge research in various disciplines, including biology, human physiology, and physical, material and space science.

A special long-term repo operations (LTRO) has been announced for small finance banks (SFBs) worth Rs 10,000 crore, to provide further lending support to NBFC-microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other MFIs (Societies, Trusts etc.) which are members of RBI recognised ‘Self-Regulatory Organisation’. 

International No Diet Day is observed on May 6, and its symbol is a light blue ribbon.