Daily Current Affairs MCQ - January 31, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Lala Lajpat Rai

• Birth:
  • He was born on 28^th January, 1865 in a small village named Dhudike in Punjab’s Ferozepur district.
• About:
  • Lala Lajpat Rai was one of the greatest freedom fighters of India.
  • He was also called ‘Punjab Kesari’ and 'Lion of Punjab'. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
  • He studied law at the Government College, Lahore.
  • Was influenced by Swami Dayananda Saraswati and joined the Arya Samaj in Lahore. Hence Statement 2 is correct.
  • He believed that the ideals in Hinduism combined with nationalism will lead to the establishment of a secular state.
  • Along with Bipin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, he formed the Lal-Bal-Pal trio of extremist leaders.
  • He was also involved with the Hindu Mahasabha.
  • He fought against untouchability.

Fly Ash

• About:
  • Fly ash is an unwanted unburnt residue of coal combustion in a coal thermal power plant. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
  • It is emitted along with flue gases during the burning of coal in a furnace and collected using the electrostatic precipitators.
  • The fly ash collected with the help of precipitators is converted into a wet slurry to minimise fugitive dust emissions.
  • It is then transported to the scientifically designed ash ponds through slurry pipelines.
• Composition: Fly ash includes substantial amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃), ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃) and calcium oxide (CaO). Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Properties:
  • Resemble Portland cement but is chemically different.
    • Portland cement is a binding material in the form of a finely ground powder that is manufactured by burning and grinding a mixture of limestone and clay.
    • Its chemical composition includes calcium silicates, calcium aluminate and calcium aluminoferrite.
  • Exhibit cementitious properties.
    • A cementitious material is one that hardens when mixed with water.
• Uses: It is used in concrete and cement products, road base, metal recovery, and mineral filler among others.
• Harmful Effects: Fly ash particles are toxic air pollutants. They can trigger heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases and stroke.
  • When combined with water they cause leaching of heavy metals in ground water.
  • It also pollutes the soil, and affects the root development system of trees.
  • Gross under-utilisation of this by-product over the years has led to the accumulation of 1,670 million tonnes of fly ash according to the Summary of Ash Generation and Utilisation during 2020-2021 by the Joint Committee earlier constituted by the NGT.

• Recently, the US Federal Reserve (central bank of US) has signalled a possible hike in interest rates. This has led to a nervous reaction in Indian markets.
  • Rate hikes by the Federal Reserve affects not only the US economy, but also shapes the macroeconomic outlook and exerts a certain degree of influence on the monetary policies in other emerging economies.
• Impact of increased Interest Rates on India:
  • On Equity Market: Bond yields will rise due to the growing dollar shortage in the global market.
    • Previously, in India, the debt and equity markets witnessed outflows of over Rs 40,000 crore rupees, due to the strengthening dollar and uncertainties perpetrated by the trade war between the US, China, European Union, and other major nations.
  • On Export and Forex: India being one of the largest crude oil importers of the world.
    • A weaker rupee vis-à-vis a dollar results in more expensive imports of crude oil that may put cost-driven inflationary push across the whole economy and especially in those sectors that are highly sensitive to crude oil price movements.
    • India’s exports on the other hand, notably IT and IT-enabled services – will benefit to some extent from a stronger dollar with respect to the rupee.
    • However, the same benefit may not fully accrue to exporters due to strong competition in the export market
• Hence, option A is correct.

• The Padma Awards are announced annually on Republic Day (26^th January).
  • Instituted in 1954, it is one of the highest civilian honours of India.
• The awards are conferred to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
  • Padma Awards are given in three categories:
    • Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service),
    • Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher-order) and
    • Padma Shri (distinguished service).
  • Padma Vibhushan is highest in the hierarchy of Padma Awards followed by Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
• Disciplines:
  • The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service etc. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Selection Process:
  • Padma Awards Committee: The Awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • Awarded by President: The awards are presented by the President of India usually in the month of March/April every year. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

In the last couple of weeks, there has been a noticeable increase in the discovery of BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron from several countries, leading to fresh worries about the possibility of another surge in cases.

• Last week, the UK Health Security Agency flagged this sub-variant and designated it as a ‘variant under investigation’.
• This sub-variant has been present in substantial numbers in India as well, but India is not amongst the countries where the recent increase has been noticed.

A sub-variant of Omicron

• BA.2 is one of the several sub-variants of the Omicron which has spread rapidly across the world since November.
• The Omicron name was given to the B.1.1.529 lineage after it was designated as a variant of concern.
• Later, it was found that this lineage had small variations of its own, and the three most common were named B.1.1.529.1, B.1.1.529.2, and B.1.1.529.3. For ease of reference, however, these sub-lineages were later re-classified as BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3.
• The Omicron sub-variant that has been most common in circulation till now is BA.1. This continues to be the case even now, though the proportion of BA.2 is on the rise.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Mysore King Tipu Sultan is at the centre of a controversy in Mumbai with the BJP claiming that Congress leader and Mumbai Suburban Minister Aslam Shaikh is planning to name a playground in the Muslim dominated Malwani locality after the 17th century ruler.

• Tipu Sultan (1751 – 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India and a pioneer of rocket artillery.
• He expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual Fathul Mujahidin.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The new chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation Dr S Somanath indicated at a meeting with the minister of state for space Jitendra Singh Tuesday that ISRO’s indigenous new launch rockets, called the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), will have its much-delayed, maiden development flight this April.

• The ISRO chairman has mentioned the launch of an “SSLV-D1 Micro SAT in April 2022.”
• The SSLV is intended to cater to a market for the launch of small satellites into low earth orbits which has emerged in recent years on account of the need for developing countries, private corporations, and universities for small satellites.
• The launch of small satellites has until now been dependent on ‘piggy-back’ rides with big satellite launches on ISRO’s work-horse – the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle which has had over 50 successful launches so far.
• The launch of small satellites as a consequence has been dependent on the finalising of launch contracts for the larger satellites by ISRO.
• The SSLV can carry satellites weighing up to 500 kg to a low earth orbit while the tried and tested PSLV can launch satellites weighing in the range of 1000 kg.
• The SSLV is the smallest vehicle at 110-ton mass at ISRO. It will take only 72 hours to integrate, unlike the 70 days taken now for a launch vehicle.
• Only six people will be required to do the job, instead of 60 people. The entire job will be done in a very short time and the cost will be only around Rs 30 crore. It will be an on-demand vehicle.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, in partnership with Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) launched the Swachhata Start-Up Challenge.

• It aims to provide an impetus to innovative start-ups to come forward and drive catalytic transformation in the sanitation and waste management sector.
• The Challenge seeks to promote an enabling environment for enterprise development under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0).
• The Swachhata Start-Up Challenge launched aims to capitalise on the start-up movement by providing opportunities for entrepreneurship to young innovators to create socially impactful and market ready business solutions.
• The Challenge, which is open to start-ups registered in India and French actors collaborating with an Indian start-up (as a joint venture), invites solutions across four thematic areas viz. (i) social inclusion, (ii) zero dump (solid waste management), (iii)plastic waste management and(iv)transparency through digital enablement.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Union Agriculture Minister addressed the 4th National Conference on Agriculture for Summer Campaign 2021-22.

• Union Agriculture Minister said that summer crops not only provide extra income but also create employment opportunities in between Rabi and Kharif for the farmers thereby increasing crop intensity.
• The Government has taken new initiatives through various programmes for cultivation of summer crops such as pulses, coarse cereals, nutri-cereals, and oilseeds.
• He highlighted that area under cultivation of zaid crops including rice has increased progressively 2.7 times from 29.71 lakh hectares in 2017-18 to 80.46 lakh hectares in 2020-21.
• The objective of Zaid conference is to review and assess the crop performance during the preceding crop seasons and fix crop-wise targets for summer season in consultation with State Governments.

Zaid crops

• Zaid crops are summer season crops. They grow for a short time period between kharif and rabi crops, mainly from March to June.
• They require warm dry weather as major growth period and longer day length for flowering.
• Some of the crops produced during zaid season are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Air India strategic disinvestment transaction has been completed with Government receiving a consideration of Rs 2,700 crore from the Strategic Partner (M/s Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of M/s Tata Sons Pvt Ltd), retaining debt of Rs 15,300 crore in Air India and AIXL and transferring shares of Air India (100% shares of Air India and its subsidiary AIXL and 50% shares of AISATS) to the Strategic Partner.

• It is pertinent to mention that following Government’s approval of the highest price bid of M/s Talace Pvt Ltd for strategic disinvestment of Air India, the Letter of Intent was issued to the winning bidder on 11 October 2021.
• The Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) was signed on 25 October, 2021. Thereafter, Strategic Partner (M/s Talace Pvt Ltd), Air India and the Government worked towards satisfying a set of conditions precedent defined in the SPA including approvals from anti-trust bodies, regulators, lenders, third parties, etc.
• These conditions have since been met to mutual satisfaction.
• Hence both statements are correct.