Daily Current Affairs MCQ - December 17, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

An internet-based platform called ‘VIHANGAM’ integrated with a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) at Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) was inaugurated on 1st September 2021.

The salient features of the said system are as under:

• The system consists of a Ground Control Station (GCS), an RPAS, internet lease line of 40 Mbps and VIHANGAM portal.
• It has been deployed at two opencast mines of MCL namely Bhubaneswari and Lingaraj initially on trial basis.
• The system enables real-time transmission of aerial video of mining activities from mines to internet platform which can be accessed through VIHANGAM portal by authorized personnel only having ID and password.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Cabinet approved a ₹76,000 crore scheme to boost semiconductor and display manufacturing in the country, taking the total amount of incentives announced for the electronics sector to ₹2.3 lakh crore.

• The comprehensive programme for the “development of sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country” is aimed at making India a global hub of electronic system design and manufacturing.
• The scheme would provide fiscal support of up to 50% of the project cost for setting up semiconductor and display fabrication units.
• The Union government will work with the States to set up high-tech clusters with the required infrastructure such as land and semiconductor-grade water.
• In order to drive the long-term strategies for a sustainable semiconductors and display ecosystem, a specialised and independent ‘India Semiconductor Mission’ will be set up.
• It will act as the nodal agency for efficient and smooth implementation of the schemes on semiconductors and display ecosystem.
• The “chips to start-ups” programme would develop 85,000 well-trained engineers.
• Semiconductor designers would be given the opportunity to begin start-ups. The government would bear 50% of the expense under the design-linked incentive scheme.
• The entire programme would lead to 35,000 high-quality direct jobs and indirect employment for 1 lakh persons. The scheme was expected to attract investment of ₹1.67 lakh crore and lead to production worth ₹9.5 lakh crore.

Hence both statements are correct.

• Precision agriculture (PA) is an approach where inputs are utilised in precise amounts to get increased average yields, compared to traditional cultivation techniques such as agroforestry, intercropping, crop rotation, etc.
  • It is based on sustainable agriculture and healthy food production and it consists of profitability and increasing production, economic efficiency and the reduction of side effects on the environment.
• Benefits:
  • Increases agriculture productivity.
  • Prevents soil degradation.
  • Reduces chemical application in crop production.
  • Efficient use of water resources.
  • Disseminates modern farm practices to improve the quality, quantity and reduced cost of production.
  • Changes the socio-economic status of farmers.
• Hence, option C is correct.

The Union Cabinet on December 15 took the decision to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years. The legal age of marriage for men is 21 years.

• With this decision, the government will be bringing the age of marriage for both men and women at par.
• Why is there a minimum age of marriage? The law prescribes a minimum age of marriage to essentially outlaw child marriages and prevent the abuse of minors.

View of different religion

• Personal laws of various religions that deal with marriage have their own standards, often reflecting custom.
• For Hindus, The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride and 21 years as the minimum age for the groom. In Islam, the marriage of a minor who has attained puberty is considered valid.
• The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also prescribe 18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women and men, respectively. For the new age of marriage to be implemented, these laws are expected to be amended.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), on December 9, proposed that all orders emanating from application programming interface (API) of stockbrokers should be treated as algorithmic trading, or algo, raising concern that such restrictions will hamper the growth of algo trading in India.

• Algorithmic trading refers to orders generated at superfast speed by the use of advanced mathematical models that involve automated execution of trade.
• Even a split-second faster access is considered capable of bringing huge gains to a trader.
• The algo runs on the broker’s systems and not on the investors system.
• Whenever the algo generates a signal, an order automatically gets fired on the investor’s account with no human involvement from either the broker or the investor.
• The algo trading system automatically monitors the live stock prices and initiates an order when the given criteria are met. This frees the trader from having to monitor live stock prices and initiate manual order placement.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India has registered the highest ever annual Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow of 81.97 billion dollar in 2020-21.

• Commerce and Industry Ministry said, FDI inflows in the last seven financial years is over 440 billion dollar, which is nearly 58 percent of the total FDI inflow in last 21 financial years.
• Top five countries from where FDI Equity Inflows were received during 2014 to 2021 are Singapore, Mauritius, USA, Netherlands and Japan.
• Computer Software and Hardware sector attracted the largest share of FDI inflows, followed by Service, Trading and Telecommunications.

Hence both statements are correct.

The James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s most powerful telescope, is scheduled to be rocketed into orbit no earlier than December 22. Though Webb is often called the replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA said it prefers to call it a successor.

• The James Webb Space Telescope will observe primarily in the infrared range and provide coverage from 0.6 to 28 microns. The instruments on Hubble see mainly in the ultraviolet and visible part of the spectrum. It could observe only a small range in the infrared from 0.8 to 2.5 microns.
• Webb’s primary mirror has a diameter of 6.5 metres. Hubble’s mirror was much smaller – 2.4 metres in diameter. So, Webb will have a larger field of view compared to the camera on Hubble.
• Hubble orbits around the Earth at an altitude of ~570 km. Webb will not orbit the Earth. It will orbit the sun at about 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth.
• Hence both statements are correct.

A controversy has erupted in Kerala over the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as the Vice Chancellor of Kannur University, with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan saying he approved the decision against his “better judgement” as Chancellor.

• In most cases, the Governor of the state is the ex-officio chancellor of the universities in that state.
• While the Governor’s powers and functions as the Chancellor are laid out in the statutes that govern the universities under a particular state government, their role in appointing the Vice Chancellors has often triggered disputes with the political executive.

Central Universities

• Under the Central Universities Act, 2009, and other statutes, the President of India shall be the Visitor of a central university.
• With their role limited to presiding over convocations, Chancellors in central universities are titular heads, who are appointed by the President in his capacity as Visitor.
• The VCs too are appointed by the Visitor from panels of names picked by search and selection committees formed by the Union government.
• The Act adds that the President, as Visitor, shall have the right to authorise inspections of academic and non-academic aspects of the universities and also to institute inquiries.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

As a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, a week-long event, "Celebrating Innovation Ecosystem", to be hosted by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), is proposed to be held in January 2022.

• The event will mark the 6th anniversary of the launch of the Startup India initiative.
• The key objectives of the Innovation Week will be to bring together the country’s key Startups, entrepreneurs, investors, policy makers and other national/ international stakeholders for a specially curated event on innovation and entrepreneurship.
• The event will feature a dedicated exhibition area for select Startups (including DPIIT-recognised Startups, National Startup Awards Finalists, Startups supported by Fund of Funds for Startups, beneficiary Startups of Government of India Ministries/ States).
• Mentoring and incubation support at the event will also be provided in collaboration with partnering agencies such as AIM NITI Aayog, DST, DBT, MeitY, DPIIT, Invest India and more.
• Hence both statements are correct.

• The development of the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket systems was started by the DRDO in the late 1980s, as an alternative to the Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher systems of Russian make called the ‘Grad’, which are still used by some regiments. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• The Pinaka, a Multi-Barrel Rocket-Launcher (MBRL) system named after Shiva’s bow, can fire a salvo of 12 rockets over a period of 44 seconds.
• The existing Pinaka system, which is already in the Army, has a range of up to 35-37km. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.