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

Tobacco use in all forms, whether smoking or chewing, is associated with severe COVID-19 casualties, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Indian Council of Medical Research.

• Now, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has appealed to the Central Government to strengthen the tobacco control law to prevent the youth from taking up tobacco use.
• Experts have urged the Government to put curbs on the sale of tobacco products to those below 21, to impose a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising and to ban sale of single sticks of cigarettes/bidis.
• Increasing the minimum legal age for sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 and banning the sale of loose/single stick of cigarettes by amending COTPA 2003 (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act) are crucial to protect youth from tobacco as it has the potential to reduce tobacco use initiation and progression to regular smoking.
• Nearly 27% of all cancers in India are linked to tobacco usage.
• Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India pushed for “safeguarding the interests of the developing world” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the G-20 summit at sessions on climate change and sustainable development, said G-20 Sherpa and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

• No time-bound agreements were reached as leaders of the world’s top economies ended the summit in Rome, recommitting to providing $100 billion a year to counter climate change, and pushing for greater vaccine equality to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
• G-20 countries also committed to ending international financing for all new coal plants by the end of 2021, but made no mention of domestic commitments on ending coal power generation.
• The final communique, agreed upon after negotiations overnight, spoke only of the “key relevance of achieving global net zero” on carbon emissions “by or around mid-century”.
• Amongst the other highlights of the statement was a decision to pursue the recognition of more vaccines by the World Health Organization under a “One Health approach” for the world, and providing finances and technology for vaccine production at “mRNA Hubs” in South Africa, Brazil and Argentina, and to mobilise more international public private financing for “green” projects.
• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the failure of the G-20 summit to set a specific date for countries to achieve “Net Zero” carbon emissions had left his hopes “unfulfilled” but “not buried”, as the joint communique set the stage for tough negotiations at the COP26 Climate Change summit in Glasgow that begins recently.
• The 2021 G20 Rome summit was the sixteenth meeting of Group of Twenty (G20), that took place in Rome, the capital city of Italy, on 30–31 October 2021.
• Hence only statement 1 is correct.

In a meeting with state transport minister, Amarinder Raja Warring, recently on Road Safety, Punjab Police’s ADGP (traffic), Dr Sharad Satya Chauhan, proposed that the birth anniversary (Gurpurab) of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev be declared as ‘World Pedestrian Day’. A written proposal in this regard may be sent to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways soon.

• To spread the message of oneness and to break barriers across faiths by engaging in spiritual dialogues, the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev, travelled far and wide during the 15th and 16th centuries.
• From Mecca to Haridwar, from Sylhet to Mount Kailash, Guru Nanak visited hundreds of interfaith sites related to Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Jainism throughout his journeys (also called udaasis).
• At some sites, gurdwaras were constructed to commemorate his visit.
• Later his travels were documented in texts called ‘janamsakhis’. These sites are now spread across nine nations as per current geographical divisions — India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, China (Tibet), Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan — and some are even inaccessible due to travel restrictions or being located in conflict zones.
• It is believed that during those times, when early modes of transport were limited and were mostly restricted to boats, animals (horses, mules, camels, bullock carts), Guru Nanak Dev, along with his companion Bhai Mardana, undertook most part of his journeys on foot.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched Bhasha Sangam initiative for schools, Bhasha Sangam Mobile App and Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Mobile Quiz.

• Bhasha Sangam is an initiative of the Ministry of Education under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, to teach basic sentences of everyday usage in 22 Indian languages.
• The idea is that people should acquire basic conversational skills in an Indian language other than their mother tongue.
• Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Quiz game is targeted towards children and youngsters for helping them learn more about different regions, states, culture, national Heroes, monuments, traditions, tourist locations, languages, geography, history and topography.
• The Quiz is currently available in English and Hindi and in the next 3 months it will be also available in 12 other different regional languages.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

The Centre has constituted a 20-member Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS), which will be a monitoring mechanism for the development and implementation of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP).

• The Cabinet Secretary will be its Chairperson.
• The Members of this Empowered Group include Chairman, Railway Board, Secretaries of Road, Transport and Highways, Civil Aviation; Petroleum and Natural Gas, Power; Telecommunications; Coal, Mines, Chemicals and Fertilizers and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• The terms of reference of Empowered Group of Secretaries is to review and monitor implementation of the Plan to ascertain the logistics efficiency and adopt framework and norms for undertaking any amendments in the Plan.
• It will also coordinate for any changes in the projects already included in the Plan, within the prescribed framework and norms and to set out a procedure and a definitive time frame for synchronisation of various activities for construction of roads, rail.
• Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the Logistics Division will act as Secretariat to the Empowered Group of Secretaries for its Terms of Reference.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

India will achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 and reduce one billion tonnes of carbon emissions from the total projected emissions by 2030.

• The country will bring down the carbon intensity of its economy by more than 45 percent by 2030.
• Delivering the National Statement at the World Leaders' Summit of COP26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, India will bring its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030 and it will fulfill 50 percent of its energy requirement through renewable energy by 2030.
• Mr Modi said the country constitutes 17 percent of the global population and its contribution to the emission has remained only five percent. But today, the entire world admits that India is the only major economy that has delivered on the Paris Agreement in letter and spirit.
• The Prime Minister added that the climate finance and transfer of low-cost technology become even more important when India has resolved to move forward with a new commitment and new energy.
• Talking about climate finance, the Prime Minister stressed the need to put pressure on those countries that have failed to deliver on their promises about climate finance.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

• Recently, NITI Aayog has released a comprehensive report titled Health Insurance for India’s Missing Middle.
  • The report brings out the gaps in the health insurance coverage across the Indian population and offers solutions to address the situation.
• According to the report, at least 30% of the population, or 40 crore individuals (referred as the missing middle in this report) are devoid of any financial protection for health.
  • The Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and various State Government extension schemes, provide comprehensive hospitalization cover to the bottom 50% of the population.
  • Around the top 20% of the population – 25 crore individuals – are covered through social health insurance, and private voluntary health insurance.
• Hence, option A is correct.

• Human trafficking involves recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, for the purpose of exploitation.
  • Exploitation include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs.
• Relevant Laws in India:
  • Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 is the premier legislation to deal with this issue.
  • Article 23 and 24 (Right Against Exploitation) of the Constitution of India.
    • Article 23 prohibits human trafficking and begar (forced labour without payment). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
    • Article 24 forbids employment of children below the age of 14 years in dangerous jobs like factories and mines.
  • 25 sections in IPC such as 366A, 366B, 370 and 374.
  • The Juvenile Justice Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act and also the Prevention of Child Labour Act, the Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act, among others.
• In July 2021, the Ministry of Women and Child Development released Draft anti-trafficking Bill, the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021.
• India has ratified the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime (the Palermo Convention) which among others has a Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• India has ratified the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the ‘Ayushmaan CAPF’ Scheme health cards at the national level in New Delhi.

• The Home Minister had launched ‘Ayushmaan CAPF’ Scheme on pilot basis in the State of Assam on 23rd of January this year to provide health care services to all Central Armed Police Force (CAPFs) personnel and their dependents.
• The scheme is a joint initiative of the Home Ministry, Health Ministry and National Health Authority (NHA).
• The health card distribution will be undertaken in all CAPFs and the number of cards distributed will be displayed on the website of Home Ministry on a daily basis. The distribution of about 35 lakh cards will be completed by December this year.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Indian Space Research Organisation- ISRO will soon provide the world a solar power calculator application that can measure solar energy potential of any region across the globe.

• Speaking at the session on Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment of the global COP-26 Summit in Glasgow, Mr Modi said, through this calculator, solar power potential of any place in the world can be calculated based on satellite data.
• Mr Modi said, this application will be useful in deciding the location of solar projects and will strengthen 'One Sun, One World and One Grid' initiative.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.