Daily Current Affairs MCQ- May 17, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Officially recorded remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are expected to increase by 4.2 percent in 2022 to reach $630 billion.

• This follows an almost record recovery of 8.6 percent in 2021, according to the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief released today.
• Remittances to Ukraine, which is the largest recipient in Europe and Central Asia, are expected to rise by over 20 percent in 2022.
• The top five recipient countries for remittances in 2021 were India, Mexico (replacing China), China, the Philippines, and Egypt.
• India topped the list in the world receiving USD 89 billion in remittance followed by Mexico at USD 54 billion, and China at USD 53 billion last year.
• Among economies where remittance inflows stand at very high shares of GDP are Lebanon (54 percent), Tonga (44 percent), Tajikistan (34 percent), Kyrgyz Republic (33 percent), and Samoa (32 percent).

Hence both statements are correct.

A Bengaluru-based venture Pravaig has produced a rugged tactical battery that it is now planning to sell to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces in Europe.

• The heavy-duty power bank — Pravaig Field Pack — is portable and weighs 14 kilograms.
• It is of great utility to the digitally connected modern military and special forces personnel who have to operate in high-risk zones such as Ukraine and Libya, while using gadgets that require constant power back-up.
• A powerful tactical battery can be used even to operate larger military equipment such as drones and it can even help coordinate tactical operations which involves multiple weapons systems.
• This supply marks a major shift in the defence landscape of India, from users to developers, from importers to exporters.
• As illustrated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, digital coordination is now part of the battlefield readiness of modern soldiers and special forces personnel.

Hence both statements are correct.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, evidence showed that a considerable proportion of people who have recovered from COVID-19 continue to face long-term effects on multiple organs and systems.

• These sequelae have also been noticed in people who did not exhibit any symptoms during their infection stage.
• In the absence of a universally-accepted definition, post-COVID Syndrome, by consensus, is defined as signs and symptoms that develop during or after an infection consistent with COVID-19 which continue for more than 12 weeks and are not explained by alternative diagnosis.
• Technically, post-COVID defines symptoms that persist four weeks after infection and Long COVID, 12 weeks past a COVID-19 infection.
• The effects range from skin rash, sleep difficulties, fatigue or muscle weakness, hair loss, joint pain, palpitations, dizziness, cough, headache, sore throat, chest pain, smell and taste disorders, anxiety disorders and mobility issues.
• The Lancet study, perhaps for the first time, described Long COVID for the longest time possible — two years.

Hence both statements are correct.

• HS200 Solid Rocket Booster engine is part of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MkIII (GSLV Mk III) rocket that will carry Indian astronauts to space. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The GSLV Mk-III rocket which will be used for the Gaganyaan mission will have two HS200 boosters which will supply the thrust for lift-off.
• The HS200 is a 20-metre-long booster with a diameter of 3.2 metres and is the world’s second largest operational booster using solid propellants.
• The Gaganyaan system module, called the Orbital Module will have three Indian astronauts, including a woman.
• It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from earth for 5-7 days. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

• Extra budgetary contributions, however voluntary in nature, provide for the majority of funding for WHO Programmatic Activities. The WHO has very little control over how this money could be spent. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) when "an extraordinary event is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response." Hence statement 2 is correct.

• The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have collaborated to hold the India International Cruise Conference 2022. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The goal of this conference is to promote India as a cruise center, as well as promoting the policy initiatives and enabling the port facilities, as well as optimizing the potential of river cruise tourism. Hence statement 2 is correct.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

• It is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 1949, by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
• There are currently 30 member states.
  • Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
    • Joining the original signatories were Greece and Turkey (1952), West Germany (1955, from 1990 as Germany), Spain (1982), the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (1999), Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (2004), Albania and Croatia (2009), Montenegro (2017), and North Macedonia (2020). Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• France withdrew from the integrated military command of NATO in 1966 but remained a member of the organisation, it resumed its position in NATO’s military command in 2009. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.
  • Headquarters of Allied Command Operations: Mons, Belgium.

The Supreme Court has slammed the Kerala government for doing “virtually nothing” for endosulfan pesticide exposure victims. This amounted to a breach of the top court’s 2017 judgment, which had ordered it to pay ₹5 lakh each to the victims in three months.

• Endosulfan is an organochlorine pesticide that is being phased out globally.
• Endosulfan became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor.
• Because of its threats to human health and the environment, a global ban on the manufacture and use of endosulfan was negotiated under the “Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants” in 2011. The ban has taken effect in 2012.
• Supreme Court passed an interim order in 2011 in the backdrop of the incidents reported in Kasargode, Kerala, and banned the production, distribution and use of endosulfan in India.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the order of a civil court in Varanasi directing a videographic survey of the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex.

• Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion, in full or part, of a place of worship of any religious denomination into a place of worship of a different religious denomination — or even a different segment of the same religious denomination.
• Section 4(1) declares that the religious character of a place of worship “shall continue to be the same as it existed” on August 15, 1947.
• Section 4(2) says any legal proceeding with respect to the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship existing on August 15, 1947, pending before any court, shall abate — and no fresh suit or legal proceedings shall be instituted.
• The proviso to this subsection saves suits, appeals and legal proceedings that are pending on the date of commencement of the Act, if they pertain to the conversion of the religious character of a place of worship after the cut-off date.
• Section 5 stipulates that the Act shall not apply to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, and to any suit, appeal or proceeding relating to it.

Hence both statements are correct.

President Ram Nath Kovind is on a state visit to two Caribbean nations of Jamaica and St. Vincent & Grenadines.

• The President, who is on a historic visit to Jamaica will inaugurate a street named after Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and a garden dedicated to India-Jamaica friendship.
• It is the first-ever visit by an Indian President to Jamaica.
• India and Jamaica have enjoyed cordial relations based on common linkages of history, a Parliamentary democratic system, membership in the Commonwealth, use of the English language and the love for cricket.
• There have been regular bilateral tournaments between India and the West Indies cricket team.
• The Indian Diaspora, of about 70,000 whose forefathers came from India (mainly from Eastern UP and Bihar) as indentured labour from 1845-1917, make up around 3% of the Jamaican population.
• Jamaica: Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Kingston is the country's capital and largest city.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.