Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 24, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Last week, the Assam government informed the Assembly that nearly 1.44 lakh illegal foreigners had been identified in the state until January 31 this year based on the 1985 Assam Accord, and around 30,000 of them had been deported to their country of origin.

• The government added that definitions of phrases mentioned in the Accord such as ‘Axomiya janagan’ (Assamese people), ‘khilonjia’ (indigenous) and ‘adi basinda’ (original inhabitants) were yet to be determined.
• The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 by the Centre and the Assam government with the All Assam Student Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad, which had spearheaded the 1979-85 Assam Movement against migration from Bangladesh.
• The Accord set March 24, 1971 as a cut-off. Anyone who had come to Assam before midnight on that date would be an Indian citizen, while those who had come after would be dealt with as foreigners. The same cut-off was used in updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
• Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, promises “constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”, but doesn’t provide clear cut definitions to identify who would be the “Assamese people”.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

With The Kashmir Files emerging as a crowd-puller and receiving political support, several states, including Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, have declared the movie tax-free.

• There are no fixed criteria for a film to claim or enjoy tax exemption.
• As a general rule, when a film deals with a socially-relevant and inspiring subject, state governments may at times exempt it from tax with the intention of making it accessible to a wider audience.
• In the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, two slabs were introduced — 12 per cent GST on tickets costing less than Rs 100, and 18 per cent on more expensive tickets.
• The revenue is shared between the central and state governments. So when a state declares a film tax free now, only the SGST component is waived, while the CGST continues to be levied. Depending on the ticket price, the exemption could be 6 per cent or 9 per cent.
• Filmmakers look at a tax free tag as an endorsement from the government, and a boost to the film’s image and publicity, even if it does not make a huge difference to the money that the film makes.

Hence both statements are correct.

People living in coastal areas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands were evacuated to safety as the archipelago experienced heavy rain and strong winds due to Cyclone Asani on Sunday.

Cyclones are centres of low pressure surrounded by closed isobars and having increasing pressure outwards.  As air enters an area of low pressure from all directions, the Coriolis Effect bends the direction of the wind to the right of its path. This creates a counter clockwise rotation around the low and convergence near the centre of the system. As the air collides near the centre it is forced aloft where divergence  takes air away from the centre of the system. A Cyclone is a system of low level convergence and high level divergence with a rising column of air in the centre of the rotating air mass. If the upper air is not diverging then there cannot be a cyclone present.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

An uncommon experiment with Africa’s Boma technique undertaken at Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district for capturing and translocating spotted deer is set to improve the prey base in Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve, situated 450 km away.

• The move will lead to herbivores populating the forests ahead of the proposed shifting of two tigers to Mukundara.
• The Boma capturing technique, which is popular in Africa, involves luring of animals into an enclosure by chasing them through a funnel-like fencing.
• The funnel tapers into an animal selection-cum-loading chute, supported with grass mats and green net to make it opaque for animals, which are then herded into a large vehicle for transport to another location.
• This old technique was earlier utilised to capture wild elephants for training and service.
• Following its adoption in Madhya Pradesh in recent years, Boma has been put to practice for the first time in Rajasthan for sending the ungulates to the prey-deficient Mukundara reserve as the kills for tigers and leopards.

Hence both statements are correct.

• Recently, Africa’s Boma technique was undertaken at Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district. Hence statement 2 is correct.
  • It was undertaken for capturing chitals or spotted deer and translocating them to Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve, so as to improve the prey base.
• The Boma capturing technique is popular in Africa. It involves luring animals into an enclosure by chasing them through a funnel-like fencing. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The funnel tapers into an animal selection-cum-loading chute, supported with grass mats and green net to make it opaque for animals, which are herded into a large vehicle for their transport to another location.
• This old technique was earlier utilised to capture wild elephants for training and service.

• About:
  • Every year on 20th March, World Sparrow Day is observed to raise awareness and protect the house sparrows. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • The Nature Forever Society of India and the Eco-Sys Action Foundation of France came up with the idea for World Sparrow Day.
  • The idea was to dedicate a day for the house sparrow in order to spread the word about its protection.
  • The first World Sparrow Day was organised in 2010.
• Characteristics of the Sparrows:
  • The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is perhaps the most widespread, commonly seen wild bird in the world.
  • It has been transported all over the world by European settlers and can now be found on two-thirds of the landmasses of the world including New Zealand, Australia, North America, India and Europe. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
  • It is only absent from areas like China, Indochina, Japan and areas of Siberia and Australia to east and tropical Africa.

• The World Water Day aims to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • Theme: Groundwater: making the invisible visible.
  • The theme was decided by UN-water at its 30th meeting in Rome. It was proposed by the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC).
• The idea for this international day goes back to 1992, the year in which the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro took place.
  • That same year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by which 22nd March of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in 1993.
  • Later on, other celebrations and events were added. For instance, the International Year of Cooperation in the Water Sphere 2013, and the current International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The Asia-Pacific region is the largest groundwater abstractor in the world, containing seven out of the ten countries that extract most groundwater (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey). Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • These countries alone account for roughly 60% of the world’s total groundwater withdrawal.

Indian Civil Aviation Market:

• India's Civil Aviation is among the fastest-growing aviation markets globally and will be a major growth engine to make India a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024.
  • 3rd largest aviation market by domestic air passenger traffic which stood at 274.05 million in FY20. It grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.91% during FY16-FY20. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• 75 airports opened in 75 years of Civil Aviation in India while under the aegis of Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), within a span of 3 years, work has been initiated to provide scheduled connectivity to 76 unserved / 20 underserved airports, 31 heliports and 10 water aerodromes.
• 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) allowed under Automatic route for Ground Handling Services and Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Services (MRO) and for both green and brownfield projects. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • The Indian civil Aviation MRO market, at present, stands at around USD 900 million and is anticipated to grow to USD 4.33 billion by 2025 increasing at a CAGR of about 14-15%.

To instil confidence and familiarise with “growing conducive situation in J&K for investments”, delegates representing 33 companies from the UAE, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia have arrived in Srinagar to turn Rs. 3,000 crore MoUs, signed earlier this year, into a reality.

• The delegates will attend the “Gulf Business Summit” on March 22 and discuss exploring investment opportunities in J&K in different sectors.
• This is for the first time an investor from Saudi Arabia has shown interest in J&K.
• The J&K government had signed the MoUs in January with the UAE–based companies, including industrial giants like Emaar, Lulu, MATU Investments, Al Maya Group, GL Employment Brokerage LLC, Century Financial, IT giant Noon e–commerce etc.
• Around 16,000 kanals (1,999.9 acres) land bank has already been opened for investments in Kashmir.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of the National AIDS and STDs Control Programme, a scheme funded by the Centre from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026 with an outlay of Rs. 15,471.94 crore by approving Phase 5 of the programme.

• The national AIDS response was initiated by the Government of India in 1992 with the launch of the first phase of the National AIDS and STD Control Programme. Since then, four phases of NACP have been successfully completed. The Phase-IV (Extension) of NACP concluded on March 31, 2021
• The national AIDS response under NACP is globally considered to be an extremely successful programme. The annual new HIV infections in India has declined by 48 per cent against the global average of 31 per cent (the baseline year of 2010).
• Due to the efforts under the scheme, the HIV prevalence in India continues to be low with an adult HIV prevalence of 0.22%, the government stated.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.