Test: Monthly Current Affairs November- 3 - UPSC MCQ

Option D is correct: Variable Reserve Ratio (Cash Reserve Ratio) is aimed to control only the volume of credit (quantitative method) not both volume and purpose of credit for which banks give loans. Qualitative method and the selective control method are used for purposes. It has a number of limitations.

In News- Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), one of the longest migrating small birds that breed throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic.
Option C is correct: Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), one of the longest migrating small birds that breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic. The bird weighs around 10 g, it’s long wing feathers that help fly long distances makes it peculiar. Usually seen in European and the Palearctic regions, the birds migrate to sub-Saharan Africa during early winter. The Vellayani-Punchakkari paddy fields are a birding hotspot on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram.

Option 1 is correct: New Development Bank(NDB) is a multilateral bank jointly founded by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) at the 6th BRICS Summit in Brazil in 2014.
Option 2 is correct: All the members have an equal shareholding of 20percent respectively.
Option 3 is correct: The bank was granted an observer statue in the UN General Assembly in 2018.

Option A is correct: Eight countries named in NASA's 'Artemis Accords' that aims to send humans back to Moon in 2024. It outlines the principles of future exploration of the Moon and beyond. It has emphasized the need for international partnerships in building up a sustainable presence on the Moon. The treaty paves the way for its founding members, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, Britain and the United States, to participate in NASA's Artemis program. It also aims to return humans to Earth's nearest neighbour, Moon.
India is not a founding member.

In News- The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Office of Profit is deliberating on whether an MP can continue to teach at a university and if this draws the provisions of “Office of Profit” rules.
Option B is correct: If an MLA or an MP holds a government office and receives benefits from it, then that office is termed as an “office of profit”. Under the provisions of Article 102 (1) and Article 191 (1) of the Constitution, an MP or an MLA (or an MLC) is barred from holding any office of profit under the central or state government. A person will be disqualified if he holds an office of profit under the central or state government, other than an office declared not to disqualify its holder by a law passed by Parliament or state legislature. The expression “office of profit” has not been defined in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 not in the Constitution.

Option B is correct: Recently, the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar addressed at the International Energy Agency's Energy Technology Perspectives 2020 about India’s contribution in compliant in keeping with the Nationally Determined Contributions presented in Paris. Global Energy Review 2020 report is released by the International Energy Agency.

Statement 1 is correct: The Arctic Council was established by the eight Arctic States — the countries whose territories fall in the Arctic region — through the Ottawa Declaration of 1996. The eight Arctic States — Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States — are the only members of the Arctic Council.
Statement 2 is not correct: The Arctic Council is not a treaty-based international legal entity like the UN bodies or trade, military or regional groupings like WTO, NATO or ASEAN. It is only an intergovernmental ‘forum’ to promote cooperation in regulating the activities in the Arctic region. It is a much more informal grouping.
Statement 3 is correct: India was given the Observer status in 2013, along with five other countries — China, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Prior to this, only France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom were granted Observer status. 

In News- Recently, 2nd edition of SITMEX-20 Naval exercise concluded in the Andaman Sea.
Option B is correct: Indian Navy participated in the 2nd edition of India, Singapore and Thailand Trilateral Maritime Exercise SITMEX-20, which was concluded recently in the Andaman Sea. The Prime Minister of India, during his keynote address at Shangri-La Dialogue in June 2018 announced the conduct of a trilateral naval exercise between India, Singapore and Thailand.  The first edition of Singapore-India-Thailand Maritime Exercise (SITMEX), hosted by Indian Navy, was conducted off Port Blair in September 2019. SITMEX is conducted annually. It will enhance mutual interoperability and imbibing best practices between Indian Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN).

Option B is correct: The Law Commission of India is neither a constitutional body nor a statutory body. The Government of India established the First Law Commission of Independent India in 1955 for a three-year term. The first Law Commission was established during the British Raj era in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833 and was chaired by Lord Macaulay. The commission works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice. Usually, a retired Supreme Court judge or chief justice of a high court head the Commission.

In News- An Internal Working Group (IWG) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has submitted its report.
Option C is correct: The committee was constituted which is headed by Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, Director Central Board of RBI.

● The committee was constituted to:

• To examine the preferred corporate structure for banks and harmonisation of norms.
• To review the norms of long-term shareholding in banks by the promoters and other shareholders.
• To review the eligibility criteria for individuals/ entities to apply for a banking license.

Option C is correct: The price to book value (P/BV) ratio is a valuation parameter used for valuing stocks. In essence, the P/B ratio draws a relationship between the market capitalisation of an organisation and the value of assets it possesses. P/BV is arrived at by dividing the market price of a share with the respective company's book value per share. Book value (BV) is equal to the shareholder's equity (share capital plus reserves and surplus). BV can also be derived by subtracting current and non-current liabilities from total assets. For the banking and finance companies, book value is calculated as 'share capital plus reserves minus miscellaneous assets not written off. This formula then takes care of the bank's NPAs (non performing assets) and gives a correct picture.

In News- Recently, China sold negative-yield debt for the first time, and this saw high demand from investors across the globe.
Option A is correct: A negative bond yield is when an investor receives less money at the bond's maturity than the original purchase price for the bond. A negative bond yield is an unusual situation in which issuers of debt are paid to borrow. These are generally issued by central banks or governments, and investors pay interest to the borrower to keep their money with them. 

In News- Recently, India has successfully test-fired a land-attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Statement 1 is correct:  BrahMos missile is a supersonic cruise missile which is jointly developed by the DRDO and NPOM, a leading aerospace enterprise of Russia. Brahmos is named after the rivers Brahmaputra of India and Moskva of Russia.
Statement 2 is correct: BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage which brings it to supersonic speed and then gets separated. The liquid ramjet or the second stage then takes the missile closer to 3 Mach speed in cruise phase.
Statement 3 is correct: It can be launched from submarines, warships, fighter jets or land.

In News- India has become the fourth country in the world to have its independent regional navigation satellite system recognised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a part of the World Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS).
Option A is correct: The IRNSS system consists of a constellation of seven satellites and a supporting ground segment. Three of the satellites in the constellation will be placed in a geostationary orbit and the remaining four in a geosynchronous inclined orbit of 29º relative to the equatorial plane. Such an arrangement would mean all seven satellites would have continuous radio visibility with Indian control stations. It will cover the entire country and an area extending about 1,500 sq. km beyond its border, with a position accuracy better than 20m in all weather conditions. IRNSS is a regional and not a global navigation system. With the recognition as a component of the WWRNS, the Indian navigation system is similarly placed as Global Positioning System (GPS - USA), most commonly used by marine shipping vessels across the world or the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS).

In News- Recently, the Union Cabinet approved Rs 6,000 crores of capital infusion into the National Infrastructure Investment Fund as a part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Option A is correct: National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) is a collaborative investment platform for international and Indian investors, anchored by the Government of India. The objective behind creating this fund was to maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure investment in commercially viable projects, both Greenfield and Brownfield. NIIF currently manages three funds each with its distinctive investment mandate. The funds are registered as Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The three funds are- Master Fund is an infrastructure fund with the objective of primarily investing in operating assets in the core infrastructure sectors such as roads, ports, airports, power etc. Fund of Funds is managed by fund managers who have good track records in infrastructure and associated sectors in India. Some of the sectors of focus include Green Infrastructure, Mid-Income & Affordable Housing, Infrastructure services and allied sectors. Strategic Investment Fund is registered as an Alternative Investment Fund II under SEBI in India. The objective is to invest largely in equity and equity-linked instruments. It will focus on greenfield and brownfield investments in the core infrastructure sectors.

In News- On November 24, China’s Chang’e-5 lunar mission will become the first probe in over four decades to bring back samples of lunar rock from a previously unexplored portion of the Moon.
Option C is correct: China recently launched the Change-5 Lunar Mission. The mission is the first probe in four decades to bring back rock samples from the moon from its previously unexplored portions. The mission is named after the Chinese moon goddess. It was launched from the Long March-5 carrier rocket, the largest carrier rocket of China. The mission will land in the Mons Rumker region of the moon. The mission will operate for one lunar day on the surface which is two weeks on the earth. If the mission is successful, China will become the third country to collect lunar samples after the USA and the Soviet Union. 

In News- The Indian Navy has leased a pair of MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the United States.
Option D is correct: The Indian Navy has inducted two MQ-9B Sea Guardian unarmed drones procured from the U.S. on lease. The drones are on lease for one year. This will boost India’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, in the midst of a border row with China in the Ladakh theatre and increased Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020, which came into effect on October 1, permits the leasing of military hardware to cut down on costs associated with buying equipment.

In News- Recently, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve receives first TX2 International Award for doubling its population.
Option B is correct: The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) has bagged international award TX2 for doubling the number of tigers in the past four years. The number of tigers in the reserve area has gone up to 65 from 25 in the period of just four years. The target was set by the partners of the award in 2010. The partners are Global Tiger Forum, United Nations Development Programme, Conservation Tiger Standards and Lion’s Share.The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was chosen based on the Tiger Census conducted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2018.

In News- Recently, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare digitally addressed the Ministerial meeting of the Global Prevention Coalition (GPC) for Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Prevention.
Option C is correct: In order to fight the war against HIV Aids, the government has launched this ‘90:90:90 Strategy’. It is a new HIV treatment that lays the groundwork to end the AIDS epidemic. 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status (90% diagnosed). 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy (90% on HIV treatment). 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression (90% suppressed)

In News- Recently, the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the India Climate Change Knowledge Portal.
Option A is correct: It is launched by the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The portal will have all the major steps the Government is taking at both national and international levels to address the climate change issues. It is a single-point information resource that provides information on the different climate initiatives taken by various Line Ministries enabling users to access d status on these initiatives.