Daily Current Affairs MCQ - February 11, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Government banned the import of drones with immediate effect, except for research and development, defence and security purposes.

• The move aims to promote made-in-India drones, a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.
• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry notified the Indian Trade Classification (Harmonised System), 2022 effecting the prohibition of drones for import.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation said that while exceptions were provided for R&D, defence and security, importing drones for these purposes will require “due clearances”. However, import of drone components will not need any approvals.

Past Initiatives

• Last year, the Ministry notified liberalised drone rules with the aim to encourage R&D and to make India a drone hub.
• The government also approved a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and their components with an allocation of ₹120 crore for three financial years.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Elon Musk’s Starlink has lost dozens of satellites that were caught in a geomagnetic storm a day after they were launched on February 3. Up to 40 of the 49 satellites were impacted, Starlink said, causing them to fall from orbit before they could be commissioned.

• Solar storms are magnetic plasma ejected at great speed from the solar surface.
• They occur during the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots (‘dark’ regions on the Sun that are cooler than the surrounding photosphere), and can last for a few minutes or hours.
• The solar storm that deorbited the satellites occurred on February 1 and 2, and its powerful trails were observed on February 3.

Effect on Earth

• Not all solar flares reach Earth, but solar flares/storms, solar energetic particles (SEPs), high-speed solar winds, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that come close can impact space weather in near-Earth space and the upper atmosphere.
• Solar storms can hit operations of space-dependent services like global positioning systems (GPS), radio, and satellite communications.
• Geomagnetic storms interfere with high-frequency radio communications and GPS navigation systems. Aircraft flights, power grids, and space exploration programmes are vulnerable.
• CMEs, with ejectiles loaded with matter travelling at millions of miles an hour, can potentially create disturbances in the magnetosphere, the protective shield surrounding the Earth.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Over 16,000 people committed suicide due to bankruptcy or indebtedness while 9,140 people ended their lives due to unemployment between 2018 and 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Rajya Sabha.

• As many as 9,140 people ended their lives due to unemployment, the highest number of such cases — 3,548 were reported in 2020, the year a lockdown was imposed in the country due to COVID-19 and large-scale job losses and economic slowdown were reported in many sectors.
• Minister of State for Home said 5,213 people committed suicide due to bankruptcy or indebtedness in 2020, 5,908 in 2019 and 4,970 in 2018.
• A total of 3,548 people committed suicide due to unemployment in 2020, 2,851 in 2019 and 2,741 in 2018.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Data from human trials of India’s first homegrown mRNA vaccine against coronavirus are likely to be presented to authorities for evaluation by the end of the month, and company officials are aiming to roll out the product before April.

• The mRNA vaccine being developed by Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals is currently in phase 2/3 trials to evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the candidate vaccine in healthy subjects. Around 4,000 volunteers have been recruited for the trial.
• India has so far approved at least six vaccines that can be manufactured locally but only two — Covishield and Covaxin — have been administered to over 99% Indians.
• Globally, mRNA vaccines have been at the vanguard of inoculation programmes in the U.S. and Europe because they exploit recent advances in molecular biotechnology and are said to be quicker to manufacture than older, well-established vaccine design principles.
• A limitation of the mRNA vaccines, or those made by Pfizer and Moderna, was that they were required to be stored in sub-zero conditions — a tough proposition in a country where such a degree of refrigeration is limited in availability.
• However, the prospective Gennova vaccine can be stored in ordinary refrigerators, the makers of Gennova have claimed earlier.
• The mRNA vaccine, can also purportedly be tweaked to be effective against newer variants, but so far, all the vaccines developed — including the prospective Gennova vaccine — have been customised to the original SARS-CoV-2.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Crop Diversification

• Crop diversification refers to the addition of new crops or cropping systems to agricultural production on a particular farm taking into account the different returns from value-added crops with complementary marketing opportunities. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • Cropping System: It refers to the crops, crop sequences and management techniques used on a particular agricultural field over a period of years.
  • Types: Major cropping systems in India are sequential-cropping, monocropping, intercropping, relay Cropping, mixed-cropping and alley cropping.
• Many farmers also use the mixed crop-livestock system to increase their standards of living and income.
  • Animal husbandry or Animal Agriculture is the branch of science dealing with the practice of breeding, farming and care of farm animals (livestocks) such as cattle, dogs, sheep and horses by humans for advantages.
  • It refers to livestock raising and selective breeding. It is a branch of agriculture.
• Crop Diversification is important to provide insect, weed, and disease control, build soil health, and has many other benefits such as enhanced crop productivity, environmental and economic benefits. Hence statement 2 is correct.
  • Planting rotations that involve cover crops can produce a large root system which holds the soil together by producing a new source of fresh organic matter after roots decay.
  • This organic matter provides habitat suitable for earthworms which form tunnels in the soil for large soil pores, subsequently enhancing water infiltration. Organic matter also helps to form new soil aggregates, which is important because it holds the soil together and therefore prevents the risk of soil loss due to erosion during high intensity rainstorm events.

Line of Credit

• It is a credit facility extended by a bank or any other financial institution to a government, business or an individual customer, that enables the customer to draw the maximum loan amount. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The borrower can access funds from the line of credit at any time as long as they do not exceed the maximum amount (or credit limit) set in the agreement and meet any other requirements such as making timely minimum payments.

Recent Economic Support that India is Providing to Sri Lanka

• Beginning January 2022, India has been providing crucial economic support to the island nation in the grip of a severe dollar crisis that, many fear, might lead to a sovereign default, and a severe shortage of essentials in the import-reliant country.
• The relief extended by India from the beginning of this year totals over USD 1.4 billion —a USD 400 currency swap, a USD 500 loan deferment and a USD 500 Line of Credit for fuel imports. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Sri Lanka is further negotiating a USD 1 billion assistance from India to help the country as it faces an unprecedented economic crisis.

• Article 153 says that there shall be a Governor for each State. One person can be appointed as Governor for two or more States.
  • A Governor is appointed by the President and is a nominee of the Central Government.
• It is stated that the Governor has a dual role.
  • He is the constitutional head of the state, bound by the advice of his Council of Ministers (CoM).
  • He functions as a vital link between the Union Government and the State Government.
• Functions/Powers of the Governor:
  • The Governor has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, etc. (Article 161).
  • The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and other Ministers (Article 164).
  • Governor assents, withholds assent, or reserves the bill for the consideration of the President passed by the State Legislative Assembly (Article 200).
  • Governors may promulgate the Ordinances under certain circumstances (Article 213).
• Hence, option D is correct.

• Recently, the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), has invited applications under ‘ABHYAAS’, a program of ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ scheme, for summer season.
  • SERB is an autonomous body of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Union Ministry of Science & Technology. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • ABHYAAS is a program of AV scheme, is an attempt to boost research and development in the country by enabling and grooming potential postgraduate / PhD students by developing dedicated research skills in selected areas / disciplines / fields through its two components — high-end workshops (“KAARYASHALA”) and Training and Skill Internship (“VRITIKA”).
• "Accelerate Vigyan" (AV) strives to provide a big push to high-end scientific research and prepare a scientific workforce, which can venture into research careers and a knowledge-based economy.
  • AV aims to expand the research base in the country, with three broad goals — consolidation / aggregation of all scientific training programs, initiating high-end orientation workshops and creating opportunities for training and skill internships.
  • Hence, statement 2 is correct.

The National Commission for Women was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 to:

• review the Constitutional and Legal safeguards for women;
• recommend remedial legislative measures;
• facilitate redressal of grievances and advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.

It is an advisory body, not a court. It can attend to grievances but only recommend action, and not order punishments.

• Using nanotechnology, materials can effectively be made stronger, lighter, more durable, better electrical conductors, among many other traits.
• Nanoscale additives to or surface treatments of fabrics can provide lightweight ballistic energy deflection in personal body armor, or can help them resist wrinkling, staining, and bacterial growth.
• Clear nanoscale films on eyeglasses, computer and camera displays, windows, and other surfaces can make them water- and residue-repellent, antireflective, self-cleaning, resistant to ultraviolet or infrared light, antifog, antimicrobial, scratch-resistant, or electrically conductive.
• Nanostructured ceramic coatings exhibit much greater toughness than conventional wear-resistant coatings for machine parts. Nanotechnology-enabled lubricants and engine oils also significantly reduce wear and tear, which can significantly extend the lifetimes of moving parts in everything from power tools to industrial machinery.
• Nanoscale materials are also being incorporated into a variety of personal care products to improve performance. Nanoscale titanium dioxide and zinc oxide have been used for years in sunscreen to provide protection from the sun while appearing invisible on the skin.