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

The Government of India took the first step towards doing away with the contentious retrospective tax law of 2012, which was used to raise large tax demands on foreign investors such as Vodafone and Cairn Energy, and blamed for vitiating India’s investment climate.

• Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister introduced the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday to nullify the relevant retrospective tax clauses that were introduced in 2012 to bring past indirect transfer of Indian assets under the ambit of taxation.
• As per the proposed changes, any tax demand made on transactions that took place before May 2012 shall be dropped, and any taxes already collected shall be repaid, albeit without interest.
• To be eligible, the concerned taxpayers would have to drop all pending cases against the government and promise not to make any demands for damages or costs.
• Former Finance Minister, the late Pranab Mukherjee, had introduced the retrospective taxation power after the Supreme Court held that Vodafone could not be taxed for a 2007 transaction involving its purchase of a 67% stake in Hutchison Whampoa for $11 billion.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

After ten years of democracy and multiple leaders struggling to keep up with it, Tunisia faces its biggest turmoil as President Kais Saied suspended Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and Parliament over a week ago.

• The President stated that the move was taken amidst the economic trouble the country has been facing for years and the government’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Tunisia, which was supposed to be a hope of democracy in the Arab world, has seen leader after leader come with little to no relief to the citizens of the country.

Tunisia

• Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa.
• It is a part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, and is bordered by Algeria, Libya and the Mediterranean Sea.
• It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert.
• Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela.
• Its capital and largest city is Tunis

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, announced the results of the First MK Bhan Fellowship-Young Researcher Fellowship Programme (MKB-YRFP), which was instituted to honour eminent scientist and Former Secretary of the DBT.

• The Department established the MK Bhan Fellowship-Young Researcher Fellowship Programme (MKB-YRFP) with an aim to encourage young bright researchers below 35 years of age to continue their research in the country after Ph.D. in any branch of Life Sciences/ Biotechnology/allied areas.
• The scheme offers an independent research grant for three years to the young Post-Doctoral Fellows to enable them to emerge as future leaders and take up cutting edge research focused on issues of national relevance.
• This Fellowship, entails a monthly emolument of Rs 75,000.

MK Bhan

• Maharaj Kishan Bhan (1947 – 2020) was an Indian pediatrician and clinical scientist.
• He was known for developing Rota Viral Vaccine in collaboration with Bharat Biotech International.
• He was positioned as Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, until 2012.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has secured Patent registration for its innovative Plastic-mixed Handmade Paper developed to reduce plastic menace from nature.

• The patent certificate was issued to KVIC’s Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur, on 2nd August 2021, by the Controller of Patent, Intellectual Property of India.
• The plastic-mixed handmade paper was developed under Project REPLAN (REducing PLAstic from Nature).
• This is the first of its kind project in India, where plastic waste is de-structured, degraded, diluted and used with paper pulp while making handmade paper and thus reduces plastic waste from nature.
• The invention is aligned with the Prime Minister’s call for fighting the menace of single-use plastic.
• The technology developed by KVIC uses both high & low density waste polythene that not only adds extra strength to the paper but also reduces the cost by up to 34%. The product is recyclable and eco-friendly.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya bagged the silver medal after losing in the final of men's 57kg freestyle category to Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Zavur Uguev. This is India's fifth medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the second silver of the campaign.

• Ravi Kumar Dahiya is an Indian freestyle wrestler who won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 57 kg category.
• He is also a bronze medalist from 2019 World Wrestling Championships and a two-time Asian champion. He hails from Haryana.
• Ravi Kumar is the fifth Indian wrestler after KD Jadhav, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Sakshi Malik to finish on the Olympic podium. Dahiya became the second Indian wrestler ever to win an Olympic silver after Sushil Kumar.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

In the joint working group meeting of the Sustainable Growth Pillar, an India Energy Modeling Forum was launched.

Sustainable Growth Pillar is an important pillar of India-US Strategic Energy Partnership co-chaired by NITI Aayog and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The SG pillar entails energy data management, energy modelling and collaboration on low carbon technologies as three key activities.

It is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

• It was agreed to by BRICS leaders at the 5th BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa in 2013.
• It was established in 2014, at the 6th BRICS Summit at Fortaleza, Brazil.
• The bank is set up to foster greater financial and development cooperation among the five emerging markets.

In 2018, the NDB received observer status in the United Nations General Assembly, establishing a firm basis for active and fruitful cooperation with the UN.

Voting:

Unlike the World Bank, which assigns votes based on capital share, in the New Development Bank each participant country will be assigned one vote, and none of the countries will have veto power.

Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor particles a few nanometres in size, having optical and electronic properties that differ from larger particles due to quantum mechanics.

When the quantum dots are illuminated by UV light, an electron in the quantum dot can be excited to a state of higher energy.

Potential applications of quantum dots include single-electron transistors, solar cells, LEDs, lasers, single-photon sources, second-harmonic generation, quantum computing, cell biology research, and medical imaging. Their small size allows for some QDs to be suspended in solution, which may lead to use in inkjet printing and spin-coating. They have been used in Langmuir-Blodgett thin-films. These processing techniques result in less expensive and less time-consuming methods of semiconductor fabrication.

The world-famous Kesaria Buddha stupa in east Champaran district of Bihar is waterlogged following floods in some parts of the district after heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of river Gandak in neighbouring Nepal.

The stupa, located about 110 km from the State capital Patna, has a circumference of almost 400 feet and stands at a height of about 104 feet. The first construction of the nationally protected stupa is dated to the 3rd century BCE.

It is regarded as the largest Buddhist stupa in the world.

The original Kesaria stupa is said to date back to the time of emperor Ashoka (circa 250 BCE) as the remains of an Ashokan pillar was discovered there.

The ASI has declared it a protected monument of national importance.

The local call the stupa “devalaya” meaning “house of gods”.

However, a larger part of the stupa is yet to be developed as it remains under thick vegetation.

A fort in Jaipur is at the centre of a conflict between the tribal Meena community and local Hindu groups.

Members of the Meena community say the Amagarh Fort was built by a Meena ruler predating Rajput rule in Jaipur, and has been their holy site for centuries.