Daily Current Affairs MCQ - May 19, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

The Government has brought changes in the existing Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Rules, IGCR 2017 to boost trade facilitation.

• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has introduced changes through the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Amendment Rules, 2021.
• The IGCR, 2017 lay down the procedures and manner in which an importer can avail the benefit of a concessional Customs duty on import of goods required for domestic production of goods or providing services.
• One major change that accommodates the needs of trade and industry is that the imported goods have been permitted to be sent out for job work. The absence of this facility had earlier constrained the industry especially those in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector which did not have the complete manufacturing capability in-house.
• Importers who do not have any manufacturing facility can now avail the IGCR, 2017 to import goods at concessional Customs duty and get the final goods manufactured entirely on job work basis. However, some sectors such as gold, jewellery, precious stones and metals have been excluded.
• Another major incentive now provided is to allow those who import capital goods at a concessional Customs duty to clear them in the domestic market on payment of duty and interest, at a depreciated value. This was not allowed earlier and manufacturers were stuck with the imported capital goods after having used them as they could not be easily re-exported.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The World Health Organization (WHO) would unveil a system of naming of coronavirus variants drawn from the way tropical storms are named, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan says.

• The initiative, similar to how hurricanes are labelled, seeks to remove stigma. It will also be easier for the lay public to remember rather than these complicated lineage numbers.
• The WHO and health and science agencies across the world refer to viruses and their variants by formal lineage names, which are a combination of letters and names that point to the relationships between different variants.
• Variants such as B.1.1.7 and B.1.617 suggest that they have certain mutations in common and as well clues to their evolutionary history.
• However, because virus names and their associated diseases have frequently been named after geographical places where outbreaks were first reported or samples first isolated — such as the West Nile virus or Ebola.
• B.1.1.7 started to be known as the ‘U.K. variant’ and B.1.351 as the ‘South African’ variant.
• The dilemma of having names that don’t stigmatise places but also are amenable to popular use has to an extent been solved by the system of naming hurricanes, or tropical cyclones. The World Meteorological Organisation leaves it to countries that surround a particular ocean basin to come up with names.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board on Tuesday condemned the demolition of a mosque in a tehsil compound in Barabanki district by the administration, terming it a “patently illegal and high-handed action” and demanded its restoration.

• The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (or U.P. Sunni Waqf Board) is a body constituted under The Wakf Act, 1954.
• It manages the affairs of Sunni Muslim waqf (charity) properties, waqf institutions and the marriage records of the Sunni Muslim community of the state of Uttar Pradesh.
• The Sunni Waqf Board has been the main Muslim litigant in the Babri Masjid–Ram Janmabhoomi title dispute.
• A waqf (also known as wakf or hubous) is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitable purposes with no intention of reclaiming the assets.
• The state waqf boards were established by the state governments in view of the provisions of Section 9(1) of the Wakf Act, 1954.
• India also has a Central Waqf Council to advise the government "on matters concerning the working of boards and the due administration of wakfs."
• Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard launched a rescue mission after four vessels went adrift off the Mumbai coast due to inclement weather and heavy rains arising from Cyclone Tautkae.

• In the early hours of May 17, Cyclone Tauktae hit Arabian Sea off the coast of Mumbai where Oil Natural Gas Corporation Ltds major production installations and drilling rigs are located.
• Due to a combination of weather factors, four vessels that the ONGC put into service went adrift in the high seas.

National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP)

The Government of India has initiated the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) with a view to address cyclone risks in the country.

Components of NCRMP- The project aims to reduce vulnerability of coastal communities to cyclone and other hydro meteorological hazards through:

• ○ Early warning dissemination systems
• Capacity building of local communities to respond to disasters
• Improving access to emergency shelter, evacuation, and protection against wind storms, flooding and storm surge in high areas
• Strengthening DRM (Disaster Risk Management) capacity at central, state and local levels in order to enable mainstreaming of risk mitigation measures

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Long working hours led to 7.45 lakh deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29% increase since 2000, according to the latest estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) published in Environment International.

• In a first global analysis of the loss of life and health associated with working long hours, WHO and ILO estimate that in 2016, 3.98 lakh people died from stroke and 3.47 lakh from heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week.
• Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%.
• This work-related disease burden is particularly significant in men (72% of deaths occurred among males), people living in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, and middle-aged or older workers.
• Most of the deaths recorded were among people dying aged 60-79 years, who had worked for 55 hours or more per week between the ages of 45 and 74 years.
• With working long hours now known to be responsible for about one-third of the total estimated work-related burden of disease, it is established as the risk factor with the largest occupational disease burden.
• The study concludes that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week.
• Hence both statements are correct.

• Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) is a centrally funded scheme, developed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It is a Mission Mode Project under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • It was approved in 2009.
  • It is a secure application that links over 97% of police stations in the country.
• Objectives of CCTNS:
  • CCTNS aims to make the Police functioning citizen friendly and more transparent by automating the functioning of Police Stations. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • Improve delivery of citizen-centric services through effective usage of ICT.
  • Provide the Investigating Officers of the Civil Police with tools, technology and information to facilitate investigation of crime and detection of criminals.

• Electoral Bond is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties.
  • The bonds are issued in multiples of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore without any maximum limit.
• The State Bank of India (SBI) is authorised to issue and encash these bonds, which are valid for fifteen days from the date of issuance. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• These bonds are redeemable in the designated account of a registered political party.
  • Political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which have secured not less than 1% of the votes in the last general election to an Assembly or Parliament, are eligible to open current accounts for redemption of electoral bonds. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Iran has unveiled a new supercomputer named ‘Simorgh’, which is 100 times more powerful than previous supercomputer of the country till date.

Noted Tamil folklorist and acclaimed writer Ki. Rajanarayanan has passed away after a brief illness. He was 98.Famously called by his Tamil initials as KiRa, he was known as the pioneer of ‘Karisal Literature’.

The Union Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has been conferred with the “International Invincible Gold Medal” for 2021.