Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 14, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Lok Sabha Speaker, Shri Om Birla addressed the valedictory function of the 3rd edition of National Youth Parliament Festival -2022 in the Central Hall of Parliament, New Delhi.

• The National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF) is organised to hear the voice of the youth, who will join various careers in coming years, including public services.
• NYPF is based on the idea given by the Prime Minister in his Mann Ki Baat Address on 31st December, 2017.
• Taking inspiration from the idea, the 1st edition of NYPF was organised from 12th January to 27th February, 2019 with the theme “Be the Voice of New India and Find solutions and Contribute to Policy”.
• 2nd edition of NYPF was organized from 23rd December, 2020 to 12th January, 2022 with the theme “YUVAAH- Utsah Naye Bharat Ka” through virtual mode.
• 3rd edition of NYPF was launched on 14th February 2022 at District level through virtual mode.

Hence both statements are correct.

Twenty-four eminent writers, playwrights and novelists have been conferred Sahitya Akademi Awards- 2021 in New Delhi. These awards have been provided for best writings in twenty-four Indian languages.

• Sahitya Akademi president DR. Chandrashekhar Kambar gave away the awards to them and handed a cheque of one lakh rupees, a shawl and memento to each of them.
• Those awarded with the Sahitya Akademi Awards are- Eminent Assamese novelist Anuradha sarma for her novel- Iyat Ekhan Aronya Asil, Bengali writer Bratya Basu, Bodo Poet Dr. Devakanta Ramchiary, Dogri Fiction writer Raj Rahi, English writer Namita Gokhale, Gujrati Poet Yagnesh Dave, Hindi playwright Daya Prakash Sinha and many more.
• The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 24 major Indian languages recognised by it.
• It was established in 1954.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Joint Statement was issued at the conclusion of the 5th India-Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade & Investment held in New Delhi on March 11, 2022.

• The Ministers agreed to formally re-launch the negotiations for India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and also consider an Interim Agreement or Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) that could bring early commercial gains to both the countries.
• The Interim Agreement would include high level commitments in goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement, and may also cover any other areas mutually agreed upon.
• Canada also agreed to examine expeditiously the request for Conformity Verification Body (CVB) status to APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) for facilitating Indian organic export products.
• India-Canada Bilateral Center will be set up for dedicated science and technology activities between the two countries. India has already established such bilateral centres in countries like US, Germany and France.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Defence Ministry of India has identified 18 major platforms for industry led design and development in defence sector under various routes. This is in sync with the announcement in the Union Budget 2022-23 that allocated 25 per cent of defence R&D budget for industry led research and development.

Make-1 category

• Under the Make-1 category, 14 projects have been identified for Research and Development purpose. They include Hypersonic Glide Vehicle, Directed Energy Weapons, Naval Ship Borne Unmanned Aerial System, Light Weight Tank and Plug and Play’ Housing and Infrastructure for soldiers posted at extreme altitudes.
• Under the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, ‘Make’ Category aims to achieve self-reliance by involving greater participation of Indian industries.
• For Projects under Make-I sub-category, the Ministry of Defence will provide financial support up to 70 per cent of total cost of prototype development.

Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Model category

• Under Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Model category, two platforms namely Long Range Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Indian Multi Role Helicopters have been identified.
• Under this category, private industries will be encouraged to take up design and development of military platforms and equipment in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation and other organizations.

Make-II category

• Under Make-II category, which is funded by industry with assured procurement, Anti-jamming Systems for Multiple Platforms has been identified.
• The indigenous development of these projects will help harness the design capabilities of domestic defence industries and position India as a design leader in these technologies.

Hence both statements are correct.

• World Trade Organisation (WTO) members commit to treating other members equally so they can all benefit from each other's lowest tariffs, highest import quotas and fewest trade barriers for goods and services.
  • This principle of non-discrimination is known as Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment.
  • This is one of the measures which ensures trade without discrimination. Another one is 'National Treatment '.
• Article 1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), 1994, requires every WTO member country to accord MFN status to all other member countries. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• A nation with MFN status will not be discriminated against and will not be treated worse than any other nation with MFN status.
  • Grant someone a special favour (such as a lower customs duty rate for one of their products) and you have to do the same for all other WTO members. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Legality of Games in India

• The state legislators are, vide Entry No. 34 of List II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, given exclusive power to make laws relating to betting and gambling. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Most Indian states regulate gaming on the basis of a distinction in law between ‘games of skill’ and ‘games of chance’.
  • As such, a ‘dominant element’ test is to be utilised to determine whether chance or skill is the dominating element in determining the result of the game.
    • This ‘dominant element’ may be determined by examining whether factors such as superior knowledge, training, experience, expertise or attention of a player have a material impact on the outcome of the game.
• Staking money or property on the outcome of a ‘game of chance’ is prohibited and subjects the guilty parties to criminal sanctions.
  • However, placing any stakes on the outcome of a ‘game of skill’ is not illegal per se and may be permissible. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • It is important to note that the Supreme Court recognized that no game is purely a ‘game of skill’ and almost all games have an element of chance.

• Civil disobedience movement was launched to attain ‘Purna Swaraj’ or complete independence. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The Civil Disobedience Movement was aimed at breaking certain laws like the Salt Laws.
  • People also refused to pay taxes at some places.
• The growing proximity of the Congress party & Hindu Mahasabha and British policy of divide and rule prevented the Muslims from participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• But large scale participation of women is one of the most significant features of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• The civil disobedience movement saw widespread geographical coverage and mass participation in comparison to the non-cooperation movement. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• The movement was withdrawn after the signing of the Gandhi-Irwin pact in 1931. Hence, statement 4 is correct.

• National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) headquartered in New Delhi, was set-up in 1986 under the Ministry of Home Affairs to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It was set up based on the recommendations of the National Police Commission (1977-1981) and the MHA’s Task Force (1985). Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Functions:
  • The Bureau has been entrusted to maintain National Database of Sexual Offenders (NDSO) and share it with the States/UTs on regular basis.
  • NCRB has also been designated as the Central Nodal Agency to manage technical and operational functions of the ‘Online Cyber-Crime Reporting Portal’ through which any citizen can lodge a complaint or upload a video clip as an evidence of crime related to child pornography, rape/gang rape.
  • The responsibility of implementation of the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) has also been given to the NCRB. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
    • ICJS is a national platform for enabling integration of the main IT system used for delivery of Criminal Justice in the country.

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued the draft notification, dated 10^th March 2022 pertaining to Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility Amendment) Rules, 2022.

• These are amendments to the Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules dated 23rd September 2021 ,which lay down the procedure for establishment of Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF).
• Some of the key highlights of the amendments are:
  • All applications for vehicle scrapping shall be submitted digitally.
  • Necessary checks to be done from "Vahan " database before submission of application by vehicle owner have been specified.
  • Introduction of undertakings by vehicle owner and RVSF operators at the time of vehicle submission to ensure that there is transparency in the responsibility of the vehicle before and after submission for scrapping
  • Inclusion of more details in the Certificate of Deposit pertaining to the vehicle submitted for scrapping to enable transparency in trading of the said certificate.
  • Introduction of Transfer Certificate of Deposit to ensure that consumers obtaining the certificate of deposit through electronic trading have a digital proof of the transaction.

Hence both statements are correct.

Department of Pharmaceuticals has released an Approach Paper for the Draft National Policy for the Medical Devices, 2022 for consultation.

• The Draft policy aims at addressing the core objectives of accessibility, affordability, safety and quality, focus on self-sustainability, innovation and growth in the Medical devices sector.
• This Policy envisions that by 2047, India
  • will be having few National Institutes of Medical Devices Education and Research (NIMERs) on the lines of NIPERs;
  • will be home & originator to 25 high-end futuristic technologies in MedTech
  • will have a MedTech Industry of $100-300 Bn size with 10-12% of Global Market Share.
• The Department of Pharmaceuticals published this approach paper for the Sunrise Sector of Medical Devices, popularly called as MedTech Sector.
• The Sector is expected to grow in market size from the present 11 billion US dollar to 50 billion US dollar by 2025.

Hence both statements are correct.