Daily Current Affairs MCQ- May 12, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, the Supreme Court held that constitutional mandate of holding elections before expiry of five-year tenure is inviolable.

In a landmark judgement in the Krishna Murthy & Ors. Vs. Union of India (2010), the Supreme Court had laid down a triple test for reserving seats in local body polls.

The triple test includes –

• Setting up a dedicated Commission to conduct rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature of backwardness.
• Specifying the proportion of reservation to be provisioned so as to not fall foul of overbreadth.
• Such reservation shall not exceed aggregate of 50% of total seats reserved in favour of SC/ST/OBCs together.

A three-judge bench in Vikas Kishanrao Gawali Vs. The State of Maharashtra and Others in March 2021, upheld that the triple test is a necessary precondition for reservation to OBCs in local bodies.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Punjab agriculture department is promoting the cultivation of green manure these days as Punjab Agro is providing subsidy on the seed at the rate of Rs 2,000 per quintal, which costs Rs 6,300 per quintal without subsidy.

• Green manures are crops grown specifically for maintaining soil fertility and structure.
• They are normally incorporated back into the soil, either directly, or after removal and composting.
• There are three main varieties of green manure, including Dhaincha, Cowpea, Sunhemp.
• Also some crops such as summer moong, mash pulses and guar act as green manure.
• Green manure varieties are incorporated into the soil when the crop is 42-56 days old.
• Green manure must be leguminous in nature, bear maximum nodules on its roots to fix large amount of atmospheric nitrogen in the soil.
• It helps in enhancing the organic matter in the soil, meets the deficiency of the micronutrients and reduces the consumption of the inorganic fertilisers etc.

Hence both statements are correct.

Army chief Gen Manoj Pande was given the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service of exceptional order by President Ram Nath Kovind at a Defence investiture ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) is a military award of India.
• It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously.
• All ranks of the Indian Armed Forces including Territorial Army, Auxiliary and Reserve Forces, Nursing officers and other members of the Nursing services and other lawfully constituted Armed Forces are eligible for the award.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India’s population remains young, with more than one-fourth aged under 15 years and less than an eighth over 60.

• There has been only a slight dip in the young population’s share in the last five years.
• Between the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) and NFHS-5 (2019-21), the under-15 population has declined by 2 percentage points, from 29% to 27%, while the over-60 population has increased by as many points, from 10% to 12%.
• Over half the population (52%) is below 30, compared to 55.5% in NFHS-4.
• The NFHS divides the population into 5-year age groups from 0-4 years to 75-79, while those over 80 are counted in a single age group.
• The age pyramid shows India’s population is young, which is typical of developing countries with low life expectancy.
• The pyramid also shows that the average household size has decreased slightly between 2015-16 and 2019-21 (from 4.6 persons to 4.4).
• Just over one-sixth of households (18%) have female heads, up from 15% in NFHS-4.

Hence both statements are correct.

• Recently, the AIM-PRIME (Program for Researchers in Innovation, Market Readiness, and Entrepreneurship) Playbook was launched by NITI Aayog. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• The playbook was aimed at promoting early-stage science-based, deep technology ideas to market through training and guidance over a period of 12 months using a blended learning curriculum. Promoting science-based, deep technology ideas to market through training and guidance over a period of 12 months. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • Deep technology is based on tangible engineering innovation or scientific advances and discoveries. Deep Tech is often set apart by its profound enabling power, the differentiation it can create, and its potential to catalyse change.

Initiatives Related to Ganga

• Namami Gange Programme: It is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as a ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution and conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
• Ganga Action Plan: It was the first River Action Plan that was taken up by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 1985, to improve the water quality by the interception, diversion, and treatment of domestic sewage. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The National River Conservation Plan is an extension to the Ganga Action Plan. It aims at cleaning the Ganga River under Ganga Action Plan phase-2.
• National River Ganga Basin Authority (NRGBA): It was formed by the Government of India in the year 2009 under Section-3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
• Ganga was declared as the ‘National River’ of India in 2008. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Clean Ganga Fund: In 2014, it was formed for cleaning up of the Ganga, setting up of waste treatment plants, and conservation of biotic diversity of the river.
• Bhuvan-Ganga Web App: It ensures involvement of the public in monitoring of pollution entering into the river Ganga.
• Ban on Waste Disposal: In 2017, the National Green Tribunal banned the disposal of any waste in the Ganga.

• Open-RAN is not a technology, but rather an ongoing shift in mobile network architecture that allows networks to be built using subcomponents from a variety of vendors. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• O-RAN has an open, multi-vendor architecture for deploying mobile networks, as opposed to the single-vendor proprietary architecture.
• O-RAN uses software to make hardware manufactured by different companies work together.
• The key concept of Open RAN is “opening” the protocols and interfaces between the various subcomponents (radios, hardware and software) in the RAN. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• The W boson is a fundamental particle. Together with the Z boson, it is responsible for the weak force, one of four fundamental forces that govern the behaviour of matter in our universe.
• The W boson was first seen in 1983 at European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), located on the Franco-Swiss border. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • In contrast to the photon, which is massless, the W bosons are quite massive, so the weak force they mediate is very short ranged. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Unlike the photon, which is electrically neutral, the W-plus and W-minus are both massive and charged. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

Litigants are forced to approach Lok Adalats mainly because it is a party-driven process, allowing them to reach an amicable settlement. When compared to litigation, and even other dispute resolution devices, such as arbitration and mediation, Lok Adalats offer parties speed of settlement, as cases are disposed of in a single day; procedural flexibility, as there is no strict application of procedural laws such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; economic affordability, as there are no court fees for placing matters before the Lok Adalat; finality of awards, as no further appeal is allowed. This prevents delays in settlement of disputes. More importantly, the award issued by a Lok Adalat, after the filing of a joint compromise petition, has the status of a civil court decree.

Plant genetic engineering methods were developed over 30 years ago, and since then, genetically modified (GM) crops or transgenic crops have become commercially available and widely adopted in many countries.

In India, Bt cotton was approved by Government of India in March 2002 as the first transgenic crop for commercial cultivation.

Though, it is widely claimed that transgenic crops offers dramatic promise for meeting some of greatest challenges but like all new technologies, it also poses certain risks, because of the fact that transgenic crops can bring together new gene combinations which are not found in nature having possible harmful effects on health, environmental and non-target species.

Transgenic crops are not toxic nor are likely to proliferate in the environment. However, specific crops may be harmful by virtue of novel combinations of traits they possess.