Daily Current Affairs MCQ - September 23, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

The government of Bangladesh has given permission to 52 trading organisations to export Hilsa fish to India on the occasion of the Durga Puja.

• The Ministry of Commerce in a circular issued on Monday, allowed each organisation to export a maximum of 40 tonnes of Hilsa to India. The permission will remain effective till October 10.
• The Government of Bangladesh has been giving special permission for export of Hilsa to India for the last few years as a token of friendship, though the export of Hilsa was banned in the country in 2012.
• Last year, Bangladesh exported more than 1450 MT of Hilsa to India while the quantity of export was 500 MT in 2019.
• Hilsa fish is considered a great delicacy. The demand for the fish during Durga Puja is extremely high in states like West Bengal as the quality of ‘Padmar Ilish’ or Hilsa fish from Padma river in Bangladesh is considered of superior quality.
• Bangladesh produces almost 75 percent of the world’s Hilsa output.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

CSIR-CMERI, handed over the CSIR-CMERI developed Solar DC Cooking System to the Asansol Braille Academy, West Bengal.

• The CSIR-CMERI developed Solar DC Cooking System is a Solar Energy based Cooking System which consists of solar PV panel, charge controller, battery bank and cooking oven.
• The technology provides a Clean Cooking Environment, Invertor-Less Direct Operation, Fast and Uniform Heating and a potential to save 1 ton Carbon Dioxide emissions year/household.
• It has 20-25% better efficiency and more Economical in comparison with Conventional Solar based Cooking Systems which loses efficiency owing to AC-DC conversion.
• This System will help in substantial curbing of Carbon Dioxide emissions; as even LPG usage emits Carbon Dioxide.
• The Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (also known as CSIR-CMERI Durgapur or CMERI Durgapur) is a public engineering research and development institution in Durgapur, West Bengal. It is a constituent laboratory of the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

India and UAE’s Commerce Minister have formally launched negotiations on the India-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

• The first round of CEPA negotiations will be held on 23-24 September 2021.
• CEPA will create new jobs, raise living standards, and provide wider social and economic opportunities in both nations.
• A new strategic economic agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade in goods to USD 100 billion within five years of the signed agreement and increase trade in services to USD 15 billion.

Economic relations

• The UAE is currently India’s third-largest trading partner with bilateral trade in 2019/2020 valued at USD 59 billion. The UAE is also India’s second-largest export destination after the US, with exports valued at approximately USD 29 billion in 2019-2020.
• India was the UAE’s second-largest trading partner in 2019, with bilateral non-oil trade valued at USD 41 billion.
• The UAE is the eighth-largest investor in India, having invested USD 11 billion between April 2000 and March 2021, while investment by Indian companies in the UAE is estimated to be over USD 85 billion.
• Hence both statements are correct.

A US intelligence officer travelling with CIA director William Burns has reported symptoms of Havana Syndrome while the two were in India earlier this month. This is the first instance of the phenomenon being reported in India, at least on record, and could have diplomatic implications.

• Havana Syndrome refers to a set of mental health symptoms that are said to be experienced by US intelligence and embassy officials in various countries.
• It typically involves symptoms such as hearing certain sounds without any outside noise being present, nausea, vertigo and headaches, memory loss and issues with balance.
• As the name suggests, it traces its roots to Cuba. In late 2016, about a year after the US opened its embassy in Havana, some intelligence officials and members of the staff at the embassy began experiencing sudden bursts of pressure in their brain followed by persistent headaches, feeling of disorientation and insomnia.
• The Havana Syndrome has had lasting impact on mental health of some US intelligence officials with at least one officer being compulsorily retired for his inability to coherently discharge his duty and another needing a hearing aid.
• Victims may have been subjected to high-powered microwaves that either damaged or interfered with the nervous system. It was said to have built a pressure inside the brain that generated the feeling of a sound being heard.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in its first-ever update since 2005, has tightened global air pollution standards in recognition of the emerging science that the impact of air pollution on health is much more serious than earlier envisaged.

• The upper limit of annual PM2.5 as per the 2005 standards, which is what countries now follow, is 10 microgram per cubic metre. That has now been revised to five microgram per cubic metre.
• The 24-hour ceiling used to be 25 microgram but has now dropped to 15.
• The upper limit of PM10, or particulate matter of size exceeding 10 microgram, is 20 microgram and has now been revised to 15, whereas the 24-hour value has been revised from 50 to 45 microgram.
• The new guidelines meant that among 100 global cities, Delhi’s annual PM2.5 trends in 2020 was 16.8 times more than the WHO’s revised air quality guidelines, while Mumbai’s exceeded eight-fold, Kolkata’s 9.4, Chennai’s 5.4, Hyderabad’s 7 and Ahmedabad’s 9.8.
• Every year, exposure to air pollution is estimated to cause 7 million premature deaths and result in the loss of millions more healthy years of life.
• Hence both statements are correct.

• Turmeric is a flowering plant, Curcuma longa of the ginger family, it is used as condiment, dye, drug and cosmetic in addition to its use in religious ceremonies.
• Its color comes mainly from curcumin, a bright yellow phenolic compound.
• India is a leading producer and exporter of turmeric in the world. India produces 80% of turmeric in the world.
  • Telangana was the leading producer of turmeric in India during 2018. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were second and third in the ranking that year.
• It can be grown in diverse tropical conditions from sea level to 1500 m above sea level, at a temperature range of 20-350ºC with an annual rainfall of 1500 mm or more, under rainfed or irrigated conditions.
• Hence, option A is correct.

• Rabi Crops are sown around the Retreating Monsoon and Northeast monsoon season, which begins by October are called rabi or winter crops.
• A warm climate is required for seed germination and cold climate for the growth of Rabi crops. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The harvest for these crops happens typically during April and May, during the summer season.
• Rabi crops are not much affected by the rainfall. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • Kharif crops depend on the rainfall patterns.
• Major Rabi crops are wheat, gram, peas, barley etc.
  • Rice, maize, pulses such as urad, moong dal and millets are among the key kharif crops. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

• A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a kind of free trade pact which covers negotiation on the trade in services and investment, and other areas of economic partnership.
  • It may even consider negotiation on areas such as trade facilitation and customs cooperation, competition, and Intellectual Property Rights. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Partnership agreements or cooperation agreements are more comprehensive than Free Trade Agreements.
  • A Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) generally covers negotiation on trade tariff and TRQ (Tariff Rate Quotas) rates only. CECA is not as comprehensive as CEPA. hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• CEPA also looks into the regulatory aspect of trade and encompasses an agreement covering the regulatory issues.
• India has signed CEPAs with South Korea and Japan.
  • India signed a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Afghanistan and CECA with Malaysia. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

A meeting of foreign ministers from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, which was set to be held in New York on Saturday, has been cancelled.

• Sources report that the member states were unable to agree upon the participation of Afghanistan, with Pakistan and India in particular at loggerheads over the issue.
• After no consensus could be formed, Nepal, the ‘host’ of the summit, officially cancelled the meeting.
• The Taliban has not been recognised as the official government of Afghanistan by any SAARC countries barring Pakistan. Several top Taliban leaders are blacklisted by the US and/or designated as international terrorists.
• Apart from Pakistan, which has close ties to the Taliban, particularly its violent subgroup, the Haqqani Network, none of the other SAARC members recognise the Taliban and some, like India, have openly questioned their legitimacy.

Formation of SAARC

• SAARC is a regional inter-governmental organisation of South Asian countries namely, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the bloc in 2007, under its then President Hamid Karzai.
• SAARC also includes nine formally recognised observers including the European Union, the US, Iran and China.
• Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

The government and people of Mizoram have been encroaching upon land in Assam along the 164.6-km interstate boundary since 1980, an Assam Forest Department report has alleged.

• At the heart of the land conflict between the two northeastern States is the 1,318-sq.km Inner Line Reserve Forest along the boundary.
• According to the report, the boundary was notified on March 9, 1933, which clearly defines “Inner Line” as the district boundary of the Lushai Hills. A district of undivided Assam, Lushai Hills became Mizoram, first as a Union Territory in 1972 and a State in 1987.
• Mizoram has rejected the 1933 demarcation of the interstate boundary. The State recognises a regulation in 1873 that “includes areas wrongfully tagged with Assam” in 1933.

Disputed Areas

• The major portion of the boundary between Assam and Mizoram runs along natural features like rivers, streams and watersheds. Only two portions of the boundary, from Chattachura Peak to Longai and from Rukni river to Dholai river, do not follow definite natural features.
• Incidents of encroachment in both Singla and Longai were recorded in November 1985. The “government of Mizoram” has continued to control areas under Longai Reserve Forest.
• Similarly, in the Hailakandi division of the Assam Forest Department, an encroachment of about 1,000 hectares of forest land by Mizoram at two different locations — 425 hectares at Kachurtal and 575 hectares at Dholcherra — have been recorded.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.