Daily Current Affairs MCQ - October 14, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Peat, plentiful in bogs in northern Europe, could be used to make sodium-ion batteries cheaply for use in electric vehicles, scientists at an Estonian university say.

• Sodium-ion batteries, which do not contain relatively costly lithium, cobalt or nickel, are one of the new technologies that battery makers are looking at as they seek alternatives to the dominant lithium-ion model.
• Scientists at Estonia’s Tartu University say they have found a way to use peat in sodium-ion batteries, which reduces the overall cost, although the technology is still in its infancy.
• The process includes heating decomposed peat to a high temperature in a furnace for 2-3 hours. The university expects the government to fund a small-scale factory in Estonia to try out the technology.
• Distillers in Scotland dry malt over peat fires to flavour whisky, and some northern European countries use peat to fuel factories and households, or as fertilizer.
• As bogs are drained to mine peat, they release trapped carbon dioxide, raising environmental concerns. But the Estonian scientists say they are using decomposed peat, a waste product of traditional extraction methods that is usually discarded.
• China’s CATL (300750.SZ) in July became the first major automotive battery maker to unveil a sodium-ion battery.
• Hence both statements are correct.

World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the establishment of a scientific advisory group to identify the origin of COVID-19 and other future outbreaks.

• The WHO’s Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins on Novel Pathogens, or SAGO, will include 26 scientists from the US, China and about two dozen other countries to find out the answer the question of how the novel coronavirus first infected humans.
• The group will also be responsible for establishing a framework to combat future pandemics.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Prime Minister’s Office reviewed the coal stock situation in India’s thermal power plants.

• India’s thermal power plants currently have an average of four days worth of coal stock against a recommended level of 15-30 days, with a number of states highlighting concerns about blackouts as a result of the coal shortage.
• Coal and lignite fired thermal power plants account for about 54 per cent of India’s installed power generation capacity but currently account for about 70 per cent of power generated in the country.
• Purchase bids on the Day Ahead Market (DAM) on the India Energy Exchange (IEX) on October 12 were for 430,778 MWh (Megawatt-hours) up from 174,373 MWh a month ago.

Reasons

• The shortage in coal is a result of a sharp uptick in power demand as the economy recovered from the effects of the pandemic.
• A sharp increase in the international prices of coal due to a shortage in China and low accumulation of stock by thermal power plants in the April-June period have also contributed to the coal shortage.
• Heavy rains in coal bearing areas in September had also led to a slowdown in the supply of coal to thermal plants.
• The power ministry has also permitted power generators using local coal to use upto a 10 per cent blend of imported coal to boost coal stocks.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have escalated since October 1, when China observes its National Day to mark the birth of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

• Taiwan, earlier known as Formosa, a tiny island off the east coast of China, is where Chinese republicans of the Kuomintang government retreated after the 1949 victory of the communists — and it has since continued as the Republic of China (RoC).
• Since its founding in 1949, the PRC has believed that Taiwan must be reunified with the mainland, while the RoC has held out as an “independent” country.
• Taiwan observes October 10 — “double 10” — as its national day; it was on this day in 1911 that sections of the Manchu army rose in rebellion, leading ultimately to the overthrow of the Qing dynasty and the end of 4,000 years of the monarchy. The RoC was declared on December 29, 1911.

Key facts

• The island is located in the East China Sea, to the northeast of Hong Kong, north of the Philippines and south of South Korea, and southeast of Japan.
• Although largely unrecognised by other countries as such, self-ruled Taiwan sees itself as no less than an independent nation.
• But Taiwan is entirely dependent on the US for its defence against possible Chinese aggression — and that is why every spike in military tensions between China and Taiwan injects more hostility in the already strained relationship between Washington and Beijing.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

President of India will Celebrate Dussehra with Jawans in Drass.

• Drass is a hill station in the Kargil district of the union territory of Ladakh in India.
• It is on the NH 1 between Zoji La pass and Kargil town.
• Drass is the coldest place in India.
• There is a popular claim as well various signs/boards showing Drass being the “second coldest inhabited place in the world”. However, there is no reliable weather data to substantiate the claim.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is a multi-member body consisting of a chairman and four members. A person who has been the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court is a chairman.
• The chairman and members are appointed by the President on the recommendations of a six-member committee consisting of the Prime Minister as its head, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, leaders of the Opposition in both the Houses of Parliament and the Union Home Minister. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• The chairman and members hold office for a term of three years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • The President can remove the chairman or any member from the office under some circumstances.
• Role and Function
  • It has all the powers of a civil court and its proceedings have a judicial character.
  • It is empowered to utilise the services of any officer or investigation agency of the Central government or any state government for the purpose of investigating complaints of human rights violation.
  • It can look into a matter within one year of its occurrence, i.e the Commission is not empowered to inquire into any matter after the expiry of one year from the date on which the act constituting violation of human rights is alleged to have been committed. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • The functions of the commission are mainly recommendatory in nature.
    • It has no power to punish the violators of human rights, nor to award any relief including monetary relief to the victim.
  • It has limited role, powers and jurisdiction with respect to the violation of human rights by the members of the armed forces.
  • It is not empowered to act when human rights violations through private parties take place.

• The ambitious Gati Shakti scheme or National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity Plan was launched by Government of India with the aim of coordinated planning and execution of infrastructure projects to bring down logistics costs. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The Gati Shakti scheme will subsume the Rs 110 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline that was launched in 2019.
• It also aims to have 11 industrial corridors and two new defence corridors -- one in Tamil Nadu and other in Uttar Pradesh. Moreover, Extending 4G connectivity to all villages and adding 17,000 kms to the gas pipeline network is being planned. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• Silicosis occurs most commonly in people working in the quarrying, manufacturing, and building construction industries.
  • It is a progressive lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica over a long period of time, characterized by shortness of breath, cough, fever and bluish skin. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It is one of the most prevalent occupational health illnesses in the world.
  • It is also reported from the population with non-occupational exposure to silica dust from industrial as well as non-industrial sources. Hence, statement 2 is correct
• Silicosis is a notified disease under the Mines Act (1952) and the Factories Act (1948).
  • Factory Act of India (1948) mandates a well-ventilated working environment, provisions for protection from dust, reduction of overcrowding and provision of basic occupational health care. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

An analysis of asset ownership data at the household level collected by Lokniti-CSDS during its National Election Study in 2019 was recently released.

• Gauging who can afford the five assets of a car, an air-conditioner at home, a desktop or laptop computer, a refrigerator, and a television set, has been seen as an important indicator of economic well-being in a fast-growing, aspirational economy.
• An analysis of asset ownership data at the household level collected by Lokniti-CSDS during its National Election Study in 2019 indicates that no more than 3% of Indian households — that is, 1 in every 33 — own all of these five assets at the same time.
• The pace of growth of ownership of these assets has been unexceptional in recent years — five years previously, in 2014, the percentage of households that owned these assets was 2%, or 1 in every 50 households.
• The data show major differences in asset ownership among the various social groups. Thus, upper-caste Hindu households are seven times more likely to own all the five assets, compared to Dalit (SC) and Muslim households.
• Among religious groups, Sikh households were found to be the most prosperous.
• The pattern of asset-ownership varies significantly with how urban the area is. As against about 13% of households in cities, only 5% of households in towns, and merely 1% in villages, could boast of having all of the five assets in 2019.
• The highly urbanised or high per-capita-income states of Delhi, Punjab, Goa, and Kerala, in that order, emerged at the top of the table in this regard.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj jointly launched Climate Resilience Information System and Planning (CRISP-M) tool for integration of climate information in Geographic Information System (GIS) based watershed planning under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.

• The CRISP-M tool will help embed climate information in the GIS based planning and implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS.
• This tool will be used in seven states where in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Government of UK and Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India are jointly working towards climate resilience.
• The states are Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Rajasthan.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.