Daily Current Affairs MCQ - September 25, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

The world’s stock and bond markets are closely watching China Evergrande Group , a Chinese property developer that is on the brink of missing payments on some of its debt.

• If not resolved, it threatens to become the largest debt default by a company in Asia, which could jolt investor confidence across markets globally.
• Beijing seems reluctant to bail out the company but is taking steps to limit the damage.
• Evergrande is an enormous—and heavily indebted—private-sector Chinese property developer and home builder that is close to defaulting on some of its billions of dollars in debt.
• The most urgent immediate deadline is Sept. 23, when the company has an $83.5 million interest payment due on some of its dollar-denominated bonds.

The subprime meltdown was the sharp increase in high-risk mortgages that went into default beginning in 2007. The housing boom of the mid-2000s, along with low-interest rates, led many lenders to offer home loans to borrowers with poor credit. When the real estate bubble burst, many borrowers were unable to make the payments on their subprime mortgages. The subprime meltdown led to the financial crisis, the Great Recession, and a massive sell-off in the equity markets.  

Hence both statements are correct.

Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract with M/s Airbus Defence and Space, Spain for acquisition of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force, on September 24, 2021.

• The MoD has also signed an Offset Contract with M/s Airbus Defence and Space through which M/s Airbus will discharge its offset obligations through direct purchase of eligible products and services from Indian Offset Partners.
• These contracts were signed following the approval accorded by the Cabinet Committee on Security earlier this month.
• The induction of C-295MW will be a significant step towards modernisation of the transport fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• It is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro transport aircraft of IAF.
• The aircraft is capable of operating from semi-prepared strips and has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops & cargo.
• The aircraft will give a major boost to tactical airlift capability of IAF, especially in the Northern and North-Eastern sector and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• Out of 56, forty aircraft will be manufactured in India by TATA Consortium. All the deliveries will be completed within ten years of signing of the contract. All 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals has notified the Scheme for “Promotion of Medical Device Parks”.

• The Medical Devices Parks to be developed under the scheme will provide common infrastructure facilities at one place thereby creating a robust ecosystem for the medical device manufacturing in the country and also reducing the manufacturing cost significantly.
• The total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs. 400 crore and the tenure of the scheme is from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025.
• The financial assistance to a selected Medical Device Park would be 70% of the project cost of common infrastructure facilities.
• In case of North Eastern States and Hilly States, financial assistance would be 90% of the project cost. Maximum assistance under the scheme for one Medical Device Park would be limited to Rs. 100 crores.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

With the government revenues picking up as the economic recovery gains strength, the Finance Ministry removed the expenditure curbs that were imposed on various ministries for the July-September quarter.

• As a cash management exercise, the government had earlier asked various ministries and departments (in category B) to “restrict the overall expenditure within 20 per cent of BE 2020-21 in Quarter 2 (July to September 2021)”. This restriction has been withdrawn.
• The government did not impose any spending restrictions on the ministries of health, rural development, railways, agriculture, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) — the ministries and department in the Category A specified by the finance ministry.
• Expenditure curbs were imposed on demands/appropriations related to ministries and departments such as civil aviation, home, labour, mines, power, telecom and post, consumer affairs, fisheries, revenue, economic affairs, financial services and heavy industries, among others, in Category B.
• The government has now removed the restriction on limiting the expenditure to 20 per cent of Budget Estimates 2020-21 in the July-September quarter.
• Hence both statements are correct.

On December 16, 2020, China’s Chang’e-5 lunar mission delivered to Earth nearly 2 kg of rocky fragments and dust from the Moon. Now, scientists presented the early-stage findings that use geological mapping to link ‘exotic’ fragments in the collected samples to features near the landing site.

• 90% of the materials collected by Chang’e-5 likely derive from the landing site and its immediate surroundings, which are of a type termed ‘mare basalts’.
• These volcanic rocks are visible to us as the darker grey areas that spilled over much of the nearside of the Moon as ancient eruptions of lava. Yet 10% percent of the fragments have distinctly different, ‘exotic’ chemical compositions.
• The distinct 10% fragments may preserve records of other parts of the lunar surface as well as hints of the types of space rocks that have impacted the Moon’s surface.
• Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

• Blue foods are food derived from aquatic animals, plants or algae that are caught or cultivated in freshwater and marine environments. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• They are found to rank more highly than terrestrial animal-source foods in terms of their nutritional benefits and potential for sustainability gains. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • Many blue food species are rich in important nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.
• On average, the major species produced in aquaculture, such as tilapia, salmon, catfish and carp, were found to have lower environmental footprints comparable to terrestrial meat.
• The production of blue food generates the fewest greenhouse gas and nutrient emissions and uses the least land and water. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• Recently, the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), in its new publication Plant Discoveries 2020 has added 267 new taxa/ species to the country’s flora. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The new Discovery to the flora of India include 119 species of seed plants, 57 species of fungi, 44 species of lichens, 21 species of algae, 18 species of microbes, five species of bryophytes and three species of fern and fern allies.
  • India has about 45,000 species of plants, already identified and classified, which account for about 7% of the total plant species of the world.
  • About 28% of the Indian plants are endemic to the country.
• Geographical Distribution of Species:
  • 22% of the discoveries were made from the Western Ghats followed by Western Himalayas (15%), Eastern Himalayas (14%) and Northeast Ranges (12%). Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • The West coast contributed 10% while the East Coast contributed (9%) in total discoveries; Eastern Ghats and South Deccan contributed 4% of each while Central Highland and North Deccan added 3% each.

• The origin of the Decadal Census in India goes back to the colonial exercise of 1881 by Lord Rippon. However, the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) was conducted for the first time since 1931. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• Census falls under the Census Act of 1948, it provides a portrait of the Indian population.
  • Census has evolved and been used by the government, policymakers, academics, and others to capture the Indian population, access resources, map social change, delimitation exercise, etc.
  • On the other hand, SECC is meant to canvas every Indian family, both in rural and urban India and ask about their economic status and specific caste name. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Maldives state-owned Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation Thursday signed loan agreements with India’s state-owned National Buildings Construction Company (NBCC) and JMC Projects (India) Ltd, to develop 4,000 social housing units in Hulhulmalé (phase 2) island.

• India’s state owned Exim Bank extended buyer’s credit of approximately $228 million for the construction of these housing units.
• The contracts for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) were signed between Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation and India’s state-owned National Buildings Construction Company (NBCC) to develop 2,000 social housing units, while India-based JMC Projects has been contracted to develop 2,000 additional units.

Why is it important?

• Close to 40% of the entire population of the Maldives lives in Malé, the capital city, that has an area of approximately 8.30 square kilometres, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
• Social housing is an important requirement in the Maldives because in addition to housing shortage, high rent prices are a major challenge for ordinary people in the country.

What is the context in terms of bilateral relations?

• This is a part of India’s developmental assistance project in the Maldives.
• The signing of this agreement comes weeks after the Maldives government officially inked a deal with Mumbai-based company AFCONS, for the construction of the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP), a $500-million infrastructure project which is the largest-ever by India in the Maldives.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

As Delhi records an unprecedented rainfall this season, it is also witnessing an increase in incidents of road cave-ins across the city.

• The cave-ins or cavities that look like a hole in the ground are actually a product of the incessant rain.
• The continuous rain leads to overflowing of drains, which can cause leaks in the pipeline. When a pipeline leaks and water from the pipeline flows into the layers of earth around it, the earth starts to erode and with time, it gets washed away with the water in the pipeline.
• Eventually, the portion of the road over it collapses because of the erosion. How long this takes, would depend on the size of the pipelines and the leak.

Fixing the road after a cave-in

• Once such an incident takes place, the first step is to find the leakage.
• The water flow needs to be shut first and this might take some time. As soon as the flow is shut and the location of the leak is established, work on the pipeline starts.
• After the work is complete, officials then fill the cavity with the required material. In smaller cavities, they fill the cavity with gravel while larger ones are filled with sand since it can be compacted easily.
• In order to avoid such cavities, the integrity of the pipelines would have to be checked.
• One of the ways that such cave-ins can be avoided, includes creating a system wherein the leakage can be plugged earlier on.
• Installing a system that checks the flow at the start point and one at the endpoint, would be able to help authorities know that there is a leak. If the leakage is plugged early, the cave-in can be avoided.
• Hence both statements are correct.