Daily Current Affairs MCQ - December 13, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

The 50th Meeting of the General Council of the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) was held under the Chairpersonship of Shri Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Labour & Employment and President of the General Council, at Ministry of Labour & Employment, in New Delhi on 10th December, 2021.

• V.V.Giri National Labour Institute, under the Ministry of Labour of Government of India, is an autonomous civil service training institute.
• It was formed in 1974.
• HQ; Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
• It is dedicated to the research in the field of labour and training of civil servants which includes labour administrators, trade unions, public sector managers and other government functionaries concerned with labour.
• Previously called National Labour Institute till 1995, it was renamed to its present name in the honour of former President of India V.V. Giri who was a well-known union leader in his early days.
• Hence only statement 1 is correct.

"IDFC FIRST Bank" has announced the launch of "FIRST Private Infinite", the country's first-ever standalone metal debit card, in partnership with Visa, the global leader in digital payments.

Between 2018 and 2020, about 2,054 cases were registered for killing or illegal trafficking of wild animals in India, Central Government statistics say.

• In the three years, about 3,836 accused were arrested for the crime.
• The number of cases registered in the year 2018 was 648 and 1,099 persons were arrested; followed by 805 cases and 1,506 arrests in 2019; and 601 cases and 1,231 arrests in 2020.
• The data was made available on the basis of cases registered by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and State Forest and Police Authorities in the past three years.
• The details were made public by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in response to a question in the Lok Sabha.
• The reply on November 29 also pointed out that Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has been created for control of wildlife crime at the Central Government level.

Operations by WCCB

• The WCCB had launched operation “Save Kurma” from to December 2016 to January 2017 to focus on the poaching, transportation and illegal trade of live turtles and tortoises.
• Another operation “Operation Turtshield- I” from December 2019 to January 2020 and Operation Turtshield-II” (December 2020 to February 2021) was taken up to tackle the illegal trade of live turtles, resulting in the seizure of 4,601 live/dead turtles and arrest of 45 accused in the first operation.
• “Operation Softgold” was undertaken from October, 2018 to March, 2019 to tackle illegal trade in Shahtoosh shawls (made from Chiru wool). During the operation, 350 shawls were found.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

"Perseverance", a word that captures the undaunted will of people across the world to never give up, despite the many challenges of the last 12 months, is Cambridge Dictionary's "Word of the Year" 2021.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated an exhibition on "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat" in Hyderabad city. Exhibition has organised by the Regional Outreach Bureau, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

• Recently, the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) has granted Observer Status to the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It will help provide for regular and well-defined cooperation between the Alliance and the United Nations that would benefit global energy growth and development.
• The ISA is an intergovernmental treaty-based organisation with a global mandate to catalyse solar growth by helping to reduce the cost of financing and technology.
• The Headquarters is in India with its Interim Secretariat being set up in Gurugram. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• ISA is the nodal agency for implementing One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG), which seeks to transfer solar power generated in one region to feed the electricity demands of others. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• The Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from developing countries has been awarded annually since 2005. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It is administered by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) jointly with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Government of India and the International Mathematical Union (IMU).
    • The DST has agreed to fund the Prize, starting with the 2014 Prize. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
    • It has been supported by DST in the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a genius in pure mathematics who was essentially self-taught and made spectacular contributions to elliptic functions, continued fractions, infinite series, and analytical theory of numbers.
• It is awarded to a researcher from a developing country who is less than 45 years of age on 31^st December of the year of the award, and who has conducted outstanding research in a developing country.
• Researchers working in any branch of the mathematical sciences are eligible. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• The Prize carries a USD 15,000 cash award.

• SAMPANN (System for Accounting and Management of Pension) project was launched in 2018. It is a seamless online pension processing and payment system for Department of Telecommunications pensioners.
  • It provides direct credit of pension into the bank accounts of pensioners.
  • It is an ambitious project being implemented by the Ministry of Communications.
  • It has helped the Department in faster settlement of pension cases, improved reconciliation/auditing and ease of accounting.
  • It has also been instrumental in settling close to 76000 BSNL Voluntary Retirement Scheme 2019 cases in a short span of 6 months.
  • It is a system with a flexible design which enables it to accommodate ever expanding requirements.
• Hence, option C is correct.

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established as a multilateral association to ensure security and maintain stability across the vast Eurasian region.
  • Prior to the creation of SCO in 2001, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were collectively called the Shanghai Five. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• SCO-RATS is a permanent body of the SCO and is intended to facilitate coordination and interaction between the SCO member states in the fight against terrorism, extremism and separatism. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• India and Pakistan became members in 2017. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
  • Member countries: Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan.

• Gaganyaan is a mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  • Under the Gaganyaan schedule:
    • Three flights will be sent into orbit.
    • There will be two unmanned flights and one human spaceflight. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • The Gaganyaan system module, called the Orbital Module will have three Indian astronauts, including a woman.
  • It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from earth for 5-7 days.
  • With that launch, India will be in the elite club of nations (America, China and Russia).
• GSLV Mk III, also called the LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3,) the three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has the necessary payload capability. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • Gaganyaan’s major missions like the test vehicle flight for the validation of crew escape system performance and first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan (G1) are scheduled during the beginning of the second half of next year (2022).
  • This will be followed by the second uncrewed mission at the end of 2022 carrying ‘Vyommitra’, a spacefaring human robot developed by Isro, and finally the first crewed Gaganyaan mission in 2023.