Daily Current Affairs MCQ - September 4, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH has launched a national campaign to promote cultivation of medicinal plants in the country as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

• Under this campaign, cultivation of medicinal plants will be done on 75,000 hectares of land in the next one year across the country.
• The program has been started from Saharanpur in UP and Pune in Maharashtra.
• This program is second in the series of programs being organized by the Ministry of Ayush under the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.
• In the last 1.5 years, the market of medicinal plants has increased in a big way not only in India but all over the world. This is the reason that Ashwagandha has been the third best-selling product in America.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Forty Central universities in India will kick off implementation of innovative measures such as the academic credit bank and the glue grant meant to encourage multidisciplinarity.

• Under the glue grant, announced in this year’s budget, institutions in the same city would be encouraged to share resources, equipment and even allow their students to take classes from each other.
• This is the first step for multidiciplinarity.
• Ultimately, faculty will be able to design joint courses, and you could see a Delhi University (DU) student able to take a few classes at IIT-Delhi, or vice versa.
• Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The National Hydroelctric Power Corporation (NHPC) Ltd, has indigenously renovated & modernized its 180 MW Baira Siul Power Station and commenced commercial operations.

• The project is in Chamba in Himachal Pradesh.
• The Baira Siul Power Station is NHPC’s first power station which was under commercial operation since 1st April 1982 and had completed its useful life of 35 years.
• The life of Baira Siul Power Station has now been extended by another 25 years.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Blue stragglers, a class of stars on open or globular clusters that stand out as they are bigger and bluer than the rest of the stars, have intrigued scientists who have for long probed their origin.

• Carrying out the first-ever comprehensive analysis of blue stragglers, Indian researchers found that
  • half of the blue stragglers in their sample are formed through mass transfer from a close binary companion star,
  • one third are likely formed through collisions of 2 stars, and
  • the remaining are formed through interactions of more than 2 stars.
• This first-ever comprehensive analysis of blue stragglers is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
• The researchers compared the mass of the blue stragglers to the mass of the turnoff stars (which are the most massive ‘normal’ stars in the cluster) and predicted the formation mechanisms.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

With local body polls round the corner, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu has announced the construction of a memorial in Villupuram to people killed in police firing and clashes in 1987, during a movement demanding reservation for the Vanniyar community.

• Vanniyars are one of the largest and most consolidated backward communities in the state. They had raised massive protests in the mid-1980s demanding 20% reservation in the state, and 2% in central services.
• The Vanniyars declared an agitation from September 17 to 23, 1987, which turned violent. At least 21 protesters were killed, mostly in police firing, and also in clashes with members of Scheduled Caste communities.

Reservation granted

• After the DMK government of M Karunanidhi came to power in 1989, the OBC quota was split into two: Backward Castes and Most Backward Castes. Vanniyars were categorised among the MBCs with 107 other communities, with 20% reservation.
• Three decades later, the then AIADMK government passed a Bill, and the current DMK government has implemented it with a Government Order ensuring 10.5% reservation for Vanniyars within the 20% MBC quota.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

In addition to the borrowings by PSUs, the actual liabilities of the government would include loans taken for the recapitalisation of banks.

Capital expenditure creates assets for the government and causes reduction in liabilities for the government.

Golden rice is a variety of rice produced through genetic engineering to include genes that increase the beta carotene content.

Golden Rice can help in the fight against vitamin A deficiency (VAD), particularly among the people who depend mostly on rice for nourishment.

Philippines became the first country in the world to approve commercial production of genetically modified golden rice.

The Pusa decomposer, is a bio-enzyme developed by the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) to decompose crop residue.

The Pusa decomposer decomposes stubble within 20-25 days after spraying and turns it into manure, improving the soil quality. Since use of Happy Seeder (a tractor-operated machine for in-situ management of paddy stubble) continues to be an expensive method for majority of the farmers, the cost-effective decomposer can be a popular alternative.

First commercial shipment of Apricot sourced from region of Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh has been exported to Dubai.

• Ladakh Apricots have a unique soothing taste and texture with high sugar contents and total soluble solids.
• UT of Ladakh produces several varieties of Apricots out of which four to five varieties are taken up for commercial cultivation and export opportunities exist for these varieties.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Nine judges of the Supreme Court took oath on Tuesday, the biggest ever number at one go.

• Articles 124(2) and 217 of the Constitution governs the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts respectively.
• Under both provisions, the President has the power to make the appointments “after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary”.

Three Judges Cases

• In three cases — which came to be known as the Judges Cases — in 1981, 1993 and 1998, the Supreme Court evolved the collegium system for appointing judges.
• A group of senior Supreme Court judges headed by the CJI would make recommendations to the President on who should be appointed.
• These rulings not only shrank the executive say in proposing a candidate for judgeship, but also took away the executive’s veto power.

National Judicial Appointments Commission

• In 2014, the NDA government attempted to claw back control on judicial appointments by establishing the National Judicial Appointments Commission through constitutional amendments.
• Although the law, which gave the executive a greater foot in the door in appointments, had support across political parties, the Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.