Daily Current Affairs MCQ - July 24, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Global internet infrastructure company Akamai suffered an outage that lasted over an hour, taking down several online applications across India and overseas.

• Akamai is a global content delivery network (CDN) and cloud services platform that is rented by online content and commerce services apps.
• Akamai faced a disruption on its Edge DNS service that took down platforms such as Zomato, Paytm, parts of Amazon, Airbnb, PlayStation Network, Steam, Disney+Hotstar, etc for a short while.
• Edge DNS as a technology provides a shorter route for DNS, or domain name services, between a company’s servers and its users, thereby drastically decreasing resolution times and providing low latencies.
• This was the second major outage involving a delivery network in as many months that affected internet usage on a global scale.
• In June, a major issue with the content delivery network of American cloud computing services provider Fastly caused several large websites to go down globally for about half an hour.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt introduced the Essential Defence Services Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

• Essentially, the Essential Defence Services Bill is aimed at preventing the staff of the government-owned ordnance factories from going on a strike. Around 70,000 people work with the 41 ordnance factories around the country.
• The Bill mentioned that that it is meant to “provide for the maintenance of essential defence services so as to secure the security of nation and the life and property of public at large and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.
• But in its objectives, the government has stated: “Indian Ordnance Factories is the oldest and largest industrial setup which functions under the Department of Defence Production of the Ministry of Defence.
• The ordnance factories form an integrated base for indigenous production of defence hardware and equipment, with the primary objective of self reliance in equipping the armed forces with state of the art battlefield equipment.”

Recently the government announced corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board, under which the 41 factories ammunition and other equipment to the armed forces will become part of seven government owned corporate entities. The OFB was directly under the Department of Defence Production and worked as an arm of the government. The government has claimed that the move is aimed at improving the efficiency and accountability of these factories.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flagged-in the Indian Army Skiing Expedition, ARMEX-21, in New Delhi on July 23, 2021.

• The ARMEX-21 was conducted in the mountain ranges of the Himalayan region to promote the adventure activity in the country and the Indian Army.
• The expedition was flagged off at Karakoram Pass in Ladakh on 10th March and culminated at Malari in Uttarakhand on 6th of July.
• Hence both statements are correct.

PM Modi will address the nation and share his message on Ashadha Purnima-Dhamma Chakra Day on July 24, 2021.

• Observed on full moon day in Asadha month of the Hindu calender, the Dhamma Chakra day is celebrated all over the world to commemorate the first sermon that Gautama Buddha gave to his five ascetic disciples.
• This day is also aptly observed as Guru Purnima by both Buddhists and Hindus as a day to mark reverence to their gurus.
• Hence both statements are correct.

NBCC (India) Limited has provided CSR funding to set up a lab space at the Thaiyur campus (called the Discovery campus) of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras).

• NBCC (India) Limited is a Government of India Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) in the category Navaratna.
• The new lab space, funded by NBCC (India) Limited, will enable the setting up of 12 additional labs of 10x5 sq. metres.
• The partnership was facilitated by the Strategic Alliances division of the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India.

NBCC (India)

• NBCC (India) Limited (formerly National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited) is a government enterprise under the ownership of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
• NBCC is headquartered in New Delhi and was founded in 1960.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Only statement 2 is correct. Statement 1: It replaces the Inland Vessels Act, 1917. Statement 2: The bill provides for a central database for recording the details of the vessel, vessel registration, crew on an electronic portal. Key Points: On 22 July 2021 the Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. This bill will bring uniformity in the application of the law which is related to navigation and inland waterways within India. It was introduced by Sarbananda Sonowal who is the newly appointed Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister. It seeks to provide protection of life and cargo, the safety of navigation and prevention of pollution.

The cities Orchha and Gwalior from Madhya Pradesh have been selected by UNESCO under its ‘Historic Urban Landscape Project.’ This project began in 2011. Key Points About the Project: UNESCO’s Historic Urban Landscape project for the cities of Orchha and Gwalior was launched through video conferencing by the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan. 6 cities of South Asia, including the Indian cities of Varanasi and Ajmer, are already involved in this project. Gwalior and Orchha have been added as the 7th and 8th cities of South Asia. UNESCO will arrange the management and development of these cities. These cities will be jointly developed by UNESCO, the Government of India and Madhya Pradesh by focusing on their cultural and historical improvement.

The Union minister for minority affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been appointed as the Deputy Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. Naqvi has taken over from Piyush Goyal, who has been appointed as the Leader of the House in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha). Rajya Sabha: Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2021, it has a maximum membership of 245.

On 21 July 2021, the Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated and addressed the World Universities Summit as Chief Guest. About the Summit: It was organized by O.P. Jindal Global University, located at Sonipat, Haryana. The theme of the summit was “Universities of the Future: Building Institutional Resilience, Social Responsibility and Community Impact”. The World Universities Summit 2021 gave a platform to bring together over 150 thought leaders to discuss the ways in which higher education institutions can strengthen their vision and commitment towards institutional resilience, social responsibility and community impact.

Amsterdam has unveiled the world’s 1st 3D-printed steel pedestrian bridge. This project has been opened on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in Amsterdam. About the 3D-printed steel bridge: The length of the bridge is around 40 feet. It is a 6-ton stainless steel structure. It has been designed by the Joris Laarman Lab. It has been constructed by MX3D an Amsterdam based 3D metal printing company. The entire printing process, with the help of 4 robots, took just 6 months.