Daily Current Affairs MCQ - February 3, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2022-23 in Parliament.

The key highlights of the budget are as follows:

• Additional allocation of Rs. 19,500 crore for Production Linked Incentive for manufacture of high efficiency solar modules to meet the goal of 280 GW of installed solar power by 2030.
• Five to seven per cent biomass pellets to be co-fired in thermal power plants:
  • CO₂ savings of 38 MMT annually,
  • Extra income to farmers and job opportunities to locals,
  • Help avoid stubble burning in agriculture fields.
• Four pilot projects to be set up for coal gasification and conversion of coal into chemicals for the industry
• Financial support to farmers belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who want to take up agro-forestry.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2022-23 in Parliament.

The key highlights of the budget are as follows:

Banking

• 100 per cent of 1.5 lakh post offices to come on the core banking system.
• Scheduled Commercial Banks to set up 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) in 75 districts.

Digital Rupee

• Introduction of Digital Rupee by the Reserve Bank of India starting 2022-23.

Mobilising Resources

• Data Centres and Energy Storage Systems to be given infrastructure status.
• Venture Capital and Private Equity invested more than Rs. 5.5 lakh crore last year facilitating one of the largest start-up and growth ecosystem. Measures to be taken to help scale up this investment.
• Blended funds to be promoted for sunrise sectors.
• Sovereign Green Bonds to be issued for mobilizing resources for green infrastructure.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2022-23 in Parliament.

The key highlights of the budget are as follows:

Har Ghar, Nal Se Jal

• Rs. 60,000 crore allocated to cover 3.8 crore households in 2022-23 under Har Ghar, Nal se Jal.

Housing for All

• Rs. 48,000 crore allocated for completion of 80 lakh houses in 2022-23 under PM Awas Yojana.

Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East Region (PM-DevINE)

• New scheme PM-DevINE launched to fund infrastructure and social development projects in the North-East.
• An initial allocation of Rs. 1,500 crore made to enable livelihood activities for youth and women under the scheme.

Urban Planning

• Modernization of building byelaws, Town Planning Schemes (TPS), and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) will be implemented.
• Battery swapping policy to be brought out for setting up charging stations at scale in urban areas.

Land Records Management

• Unique Land Parcel Identification Number for IT-based management of land records.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2022-23 in Parliament.

The key highlights of the budget are as follows:

• Rs. 2.37 lakh crore direct payment to 1.63 crore farmers for procurement of wheat and paddy.
• Chemical free Natural farming to be promoted throughout the county. Initial focus is on farmer’s lands in 5 Km wide corridors along river Ganga.
• NABARD to facilitate fund with blended capital to finance startups for agriculture & rural enterprise.
• ‘Kisan Drones’ for crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients.

Ken Betwa project

• 1400 crore outlay for implementation of the Ken – Betwa link project.
• 9.08 lakh hectares of farmers’ lands to receive irrigation benefits by Ken-Betwa link project.
• Hence both statements are correct.

All power in a democracy ultimately belongs to the country’s people. In India, one constitutionally mandated body that is designed to deliver on this promise, in a manner that balances revenue power with expenditure responsibilities, is the Finance Commission (FC).

Nitrous oxide’s atmospheric concentration reached 333 parts per billion (ppb) in 2020, increasing at a rate of about 1 ppb annually. It is a major scavenger of stratospheric ozone, with an impact comparable to that of CFCs.

Being the third most important long-lived greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide also substantially contributes to global warming.

National Pension System

• The Central Government has introduced the National Pension System (NPS) with effect from January 2004 (except for armed forces). Hence statement 1 is not correct.
  • In 2018 to streamline the NPS and make it more attractive, the Union Cabinet approved changes in the scheme to benefit central government employees covered under NPS.
• NPS is being implemented and regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in the country. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• National Pension System Trust (NPST) established by PFRDA is the registered owner of all assets under NPS.

• Graphene is a one-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It is the building-block of Graphite, but graphene is a remarkable substance on its own with a multitude of astonishing properties.
  • It is the thinnest, most electrically and thermally conductive material in the world, while also being flexible, transparent and incredibly strong. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Often referred to as a wonder material for its extraordinary electrical and electronics properties, graphene could replace Indium and thereby bring down the cost of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens in smartphones, studies have shown.
• Graphene has a lot of promise for additional applications: anti-corrosion coatings and paints, efficient and precise sensors, faster and efficient electronics, flexible displays, efficient solar panels, faster DNA sequencing, drug delivery, and more. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)

• It is an informal and voluntary partnership among 35 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying greater than 500 kg payload for more than 300 km.
• The members are thus prohibited from supplying such missiles and UAV systems that are controlled by the MTCR to non-members.
• The decisions are taken by consensus of all the members.
• This is a non–treaty association of member countries with certain guidelines about the information sharing, national control laws and export policies for missile systems and a rule-based regulation mechanism to limit the transfer of such critical technologies of these missile systems.
• It was established in April 1987 by G-7 countries – USA, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, and Japan.
• India became the 35 full member MTCR In July 2016.
• Hence, option A is correct.

The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2022-23 in Parliament.

The key highlights of the budget are as follows:

• India’s economic growth estimated at 9.2% to be the highest among all large economies.
• 60 lakh new jobs to be created under the productivity linked incentive scheme in 14 sectors.
• PLI Schemes have the potential to create an additional production of Rs 30 lakh crore.
• Entering Amrit Kaal, the 25 year long lead up to India @100, the budget provides impetus for growth along four priorities:
  • PM GatiShakti
  • Inclusive Development
  • Productivity Enhancement & Investment, Sunrise opportunities, Energy Transition, and Climate Action.
  • Financing of investments
• Hence both statements are correct.