Daily Current Affairs MCQ - August 26, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for sugar season 2021-22 (October - September) at Rs. 290/- per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10%.

• The cost of production of sugarcane for the sugar season 2021-22 is Rs. 155 per quintal. This FRP of Rs. 290 per quintal at a recovery rate of 10% is higher by 87.1% over production cost, thereby giving the farmers a return of much more than 50% over their cost.
• The FRP approved shall be applicable for purchase of sugarcane from the farmers in the sugar season 2021-22 (starting w.e.f. 1st October, 2021) by sugar mills.
• The FRP has been determined on the basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and after consultation with State Governments and other stake-holders.
• Hence both statements are correct.

In order to meet the skill gap in the industry, Ministry of Textiles is implementing Samarth Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector.

• First batch in each 63 training centers have been completed successfully benefitting 1,565 artisans. The second batch will also complete during the month of August 2021 benefiting 1,421 artisans.
• Additionally, 65 new handicrafts training centers are being established to scale up the training program so that the maximum number of artisans can be benefitted.

The salient features of the scheme are:

• Samarth Scheme is being implemented in association with State Government agencies, sectoral organisations of Ministry of Textiles, Manufacturing Industry, Industry Associations and MSME Associations.
• Formulated as per broad skilling framework adopted by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• Comprise entry level skilling (Fresh workers) and Upskilling (existing worker).
• Mandatory placement of trainees- 70% for entry level & 90% for upskilling under organized sector.
• Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) and Web based centralized Management Information System (MIS) for monitoring.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti began ‘SUJALAM’, a ‘100 days campaign’ to create more and more ODF Plus villages by undertaking waste water management at village level particularly through creation of 1 million Soak-pits and also other Grey water management activities.

The key activities that will be organised in the villages under this campaign include:

• Organizing Community consultations, Khuli Baithaks and Gram Sabha meetings to analyze the current situation
• Pass resolution to maintain ODF sustainability and achieve needed number of soak pits to manage the grey water
• Develop a 100 days’ plan to undertake sustainability and soak pit construction related activities
• Construct requisite number of soak pits
• Retrofit toilets where needed through IEC and community mobilization and
• Ensure all newly emerging Households in the village have access to toilets.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman today unveiled the fourth edition of the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda ‘EASE 4.0’ for 2021-22 - tech-enabled, simplified, and collaborative banking.

• She also unveiled the annual report for the PSB Reforms Agenda EASE 3.0 for 2020-21.
• Public Sector Banks have reported healthy profits and have accelerated on technology-driven reforms. These banks have reported a profit of Rs. 31,817 crore in FY21 as compared to a loss of Rs. 26,016 crore in FY20. This is the first year when PSBs have reported profit after five years of losses.
• Total gross non-performing assets stood at Rs. 6.16 lakh crore as of March 2021 - a reduction of Rs. 62,000 crore from March 2020 levels.
• Credit@click was a flagship initiative under EASE 3.0. Nearly 4.4 lakh customers have been benefitted through such instantaneous and simplified credit access.
• Nearly 72% of financial transactions happening at PSBs is now happening through digital channels.
• The next edition of EASE reforms i.e. EASE 4.0 aims to further the agenda of customer-centric digital transformation and deeply embed digital and data into PSBs' ways of working.
• Hence both statements are correct.

On 26th August 2021, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will be launching MANTHAN 2021.

• Hackathon MANTHAN 2021 is a unique national initiative to identify innovative concepts and technology solutions for addressing the security challenges of the 21st century faced by our intelligence agencies.
• During this 36 hours online hackathon, scheduled from 28th November to 1st December 2021, selected youths from education institutions across the country and registered start-ups will participate to offer strong, safe and effective technology solutions using their technical expertise and innovative skills.
• Total Prize money worth Rs. 40 Lakh will be given to the winning teams.
• Participants are expected to develop digital solutions under 6 themes for 20 different challenge statements.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

• Recently, Forum for Decarbonizing Transport was jointly launched by NITI Aayog and World Resources Institute (WRI), India. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The forum is a part of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) project, which focuses on developing a coherent strategy of effective policies and the formation of a multi-stakeholder platform for decarbonising transport in the region. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• EASE Reforms Agenda was launched in January 2018 jointly by the government and PSBs.
• It was commissioned through Indian Banks’ Association and authored by Boston Consulting Group.
• Various Stages under EASE Reforms Agenda:
  • EASE 1.0: The EASE 1.0 report showed significant improvement in PSB performance in resolution of Non Performing Assets (NPAs) transparently.
  • EASE 2.0: EASE 2.0 was built on the foundation of EASE 1.0 and introduced new reform Action Points across six themes to make reforms journey irreversible, strengthen processes and systems, and drive outcomes. The six themes of EASE 2.0 are:
    • Responsible Banking;
    • Customer Responsiveness;
    • Credit Off-take,
    • PSBs as UdyamiMitra (SIDBI portal for credit management of MSMEs);
    • Financial Inclusion & Digitalisation;
    • Governance and Human Resource (HR).
  • Ease 3.0: It seeks to enhance ease of banking in all customer experiences, using technology.
  • EASE 4.0 commits PSBs to tech-enabled, simplified and collaborative banking to further the agenda of customer-centric digital transformation.
• Hence, option D is correct.

• Nanorobotics describes the technology of producing machines or robots at the nanoscale.
  • 'Nanobot' is an informal term to refer to engineered nano machines that carry out a very specific function and are ~50–100 nm wide.
• They can be used very effectively for drug delivery.
  • Using nanotechnology, the drug can be targeted to a precise location which would make the drug much more effective and reduce the chances of possible side effects.
• Uses of Nanotechnology in Health Care:
  • Nanotech detectors for heart attack.
  • Nanocarriers for eye surgery, chemotherapy etc.
  • Diabetic pads for regulating blood sugar levels.
  • Nanosponges are polymer nanoparticles coated with a red blood cell membrane, and can be used for absorbing toxins and removing them from the bloodstream.
  • NanoFlares are used for detection of cancer cells in the bloodstream.
  • Nanopores are used in making DNA sequencing more efficient.
• Hence, option D is correct.

Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched Startup Accelerators of MeitY for pRoduct Innovation, Development and growth (SAMRIDH) programme.

• SAMRIDH will create a conducive platform for Indian software product startups to enhance their products and secure investments for scaling their business.
• The programme is being implemented by MeitY Start-up Hub (MSH).
• Government will support startups and entrepreneurs in the most challenging phase which is the initial risk phase, Vaishnaw had said earlier.
• The SAMRIDH programme will focus on accelerating 300 start-ups by providing customer connect, investor connect, and international expansion opportunities in the next three years.
• Also, an investment of up to Rs 40 lakh to startups, based on their current valuation and growth stage will be provided through selected accelerators. It will also facilitate equal matching investment by the accelerator or investor.
• The programme aims to further the Indian startup growth which has seen the emergence of 63 unicorns (Startups with over $1 billion valuation), making India the third largest unicorn hub globally with a total valuation of $168 billion.
• Hence both statements are correct.

As part of military diplomacy and to strengthen the growing strategic relation with Kazakhstan, the 5th edition of Indo- Kazakhstan Joint Training Exercise, “KAZIND-21” will be conducted at Training Node, Aisha Bibi, Kazakhstan, from 30 August to 11 September 2021.

• The exercise is a joint training between both the Armies, which will boost the bilateral relations between India and Kazakhstan.
• The Indian Army contingent represented by a battalion of The Bihar Regiment consists of a total of 90 personnel led by a Contingent Commander. The Kazakhstan Army will be represented by a company group.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.