Daily Current Affairs MCQ- June 10, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Azhdarchid pterosaurs, the giant reptiles that flew in the skies nearly 65 million years ago, had necks longer than that of a giraffe (on average a giraffe’s neck is about 6 feet long).

• Now, researchers have reported a new finding about their long necks — that the thin neck vertebrae were supported by an intricate internal structure that is unlike anything seen before.
• Pterosaurs are reptiles that are close cousins of dinosaurs, the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight.
• Pterosaurs went extinct about 65-66 million years ago (end of the Cretaceous period).
• Azhdarchid pterosaurs are one type of pterosaur and one of the distinguishing characteristics about them is how big they were, especially their long necks.

Hence both statements are correct.

Bernie Madoff, the Wall Street financier who was sentenced to 150 years after being convicted for what came to be known as the largest and most devastating Ponzi scheme in financial history, died in the US.

• A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors.
• The scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from legitimate business activity (e.g. product sales and/or successful investments), and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of funds.
• Ponzi schemes rely on a constant flow of new investments to continue to provide returns to older investors. When this flow runs out, the scheme falls apart.
• The term "Ponzi Scheme" was coined after a swindler named Charles Ponzi in 1919. However, the first recorded instances of this sort of investment scam can be traced back to the mid-to-late 1800s.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Home Ministry has restored the electronic visa (e-visa) facility for foreigners from 156 countries who intend to visit India for business, conferences and medical reasons, including for medical attendants. E-visa for tourists is yet to be restored.

• An e-visa is provided in five categories — tourist, business, conference, medical, and medical attendant.
• Under the arrangement, a foreigner can apply online four days prior to travel.
• After the details are verified, an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) is generated, which has to be presented at the immigration checkpost on arrival.
• Entry through e-visas is allowed only at 28 designated international airports and five major seaports in India.
• Though available to people of 171 countries before restrictions were announced in 2020, the facility has been restored only for 156. China, the U.K., Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia are notable exclusions. The relaxation comes in the wake of a deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The National Pension System (NPS) will no longer compel investors to convert 40% of their accumulated retirement corpus into an annuity, as poor yields and high inflation are translating into negative returns, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) said.

• The regulator will soon allow those saving up to ₹5 lakh to take the whole amount at retirement, up from ₹2 lakh at present.
• The pension fund regulator is also hoping to launch the first guaranteed return NPS scheme in the coming year.
• Separately, amendments will be made to the PFRDA Act of 2013 to allow NPS members with a balance over ₹5 lakh to retain 40% of the corpus in the NPS or wind it down over a few years through a system akin to a systematic withdrawal plan.
• Post-retirement, a person has to take 40% of the total corpus as an annuity as per the law’s mandate, and 60% can be commuted and taken as a lump sum.
• The Finance Ministry has announced plans to amend the PFRDA law since Budget 2019-20 and to make legislative changes to override the statutory annuitisation provision.

Hence both statements are correct.

Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) inaugurated three initiatives for National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI).

1. IPv6 Expert Panel (IP Guru): IP Guru is a group to extend support to all the Indian entities who are finding it technically challenging to migrate and adopt IPv6. It’s a joint effort of DOT, MeitY & community to promote IPv6. The expert panel group comprises members from government and private organizations.
2. NIXI Academy: NIXI Academy is created to educate technical/non-technical people in India to learn and relearn technologies like IPv6 which are normally not taught in Educational Institutes.
3. NIXI-IP-INDEX: NIXI has developed an IPv6 index portal for the Internet community. NIXI-IP-INDEX portal will showcase the IPv6 adoption rate in India and across the world.

• National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not-for-profit organization (section 8 of the Companies Act 2013) working since 2003 for spreading the internet infrastructure to the citizens of India through the following activities:
  • Internet Exchanges through which the internet data is exchanged amongst ISP’s, Data Centers and CDNs.
  • .IN Registry, managing and operation of .IN country code domain and .भारत IDN domain for India.
  • IRINN, managing and operating Internet protocol (IPv4/IPv6).

Hence both statements are correct.

Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal chaired the first meeting of National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC).

• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had constituted the National Startup Advisory Council to advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities.
• Besides the ex-officio members, the council has a number of non-official members, representing various stakeholders such as founders of successful startups, veterans who have grown and scaled companies in India, persons capable of representing interest of investors into startups, persons capable of representing interests of incubators and accelerators, representatives of associations of stakeholders of startups and representatives of industry associations.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Devotees with negative RT-PCR test report will only be allowed to enter the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.

• According to UNESCO, Kumbh Mela (the festival of the sacred Pitcher) is the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth attended by millions of people. The congregation includes ascetics, saints, sadhus, aspirants-kalpavasis and visitors.
• During it, participants bathe or take a dip in a sacred river as they believe that by doing this one gets freed from sins and thus liberating her/him from the cycle of birth and death.
• The festival is held at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik every four years by rotation. As it is held in four different cities in India, it involves different social and cultural activities, making this a culturally diverse festival.
• At any given place, the Kumbh Mela is held once in 12 years. There is a difference of around 3 years between the Kumbh Melas at Haridwar and Nashik; the fairs at Nashik and Ujjain are celebrated in the same year or one year apart.
• At Haridwar and Allahabad, an Ardha ("Half") Kumbh Mela is held every sixth year.

Hence both statements are correct.

Skygazers watched a rare celestial event when the moon came between Earth and Mars. The phenomenon is known as occultation.

• An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The term is often used in astronomy.
• If the closer body does not entirely conceal the farther one, the event is called a transit. Both transit and occultation may be referred to generally as occlusion; and if a shadow is cast onto the observer, it is called an eclipse.
• Occultations by the Moon: The term occultation is most frequently used to describe those relatively frequent occasions when the Moon passes in front of a star during the course of its orbital motion around the Earth.

Hence both statements are correct.

Eight institutions and individuals have applied for on-tap licences to set up universal banks and small finance banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.

• This comes weeks after RBI set up an advisory panel, led by former deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath, to evaluate applications for universal and small finance banks, which are mandated to focus on priority sector lending and small loans.
• The last time RBI handed out universal bank licences was in 2015 when it cleared IDFC Ltd and Bandhan Financial’s applications.
• In August 2016, RBI released guidelines for on-tap licensing for universal banks.
• Among eligible promoters for banks were resident professionals who have 10 years of experience in banking and finance at a senior level. Private sector entities owned and controlled by residents and have a successful track record for at least 10 years are also eligible, provided they have assets of ₹5,000 crore or more, and the non-financial business of the group does not account for 40% or more of total assets or gross income.
• Existing non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) controlled by residents and with a successful track record for at least 10 years were also allowed to apply for licences.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

During the 11th round of discussions between the senior military commanders of India and China on April 9, to resolve the over 11-month long standoff in eastern Ladakh, China had refused to vacate two of the four original friction points.

• At two friction points, Patrolling Point 15 (PP15) in Hot Springs, and PP17A near Gogra Post, China still has a platoon-level strength each, along with vehicles.
• Along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India in China, Indian Army has been given certain locations that its troops have to access to patrol the area under its control. These points are known as patrolling points, or PPs, and are decided by the China Study Group (CSG).
• PP15 and PP17A are two of the 65 patrolling points in Ladakh along the LAC.
• PP15 is located in an area known as the Hot Springs, while PP17A is near an area called the Gogra post.
• Both of these are close to the Chang Chenmo river in the Galwan sub-sector of the LAC in eastern Ladakh. While Hot Springs is just north of the Chang Chenmo river, Gogra Post is east of the point where the river takes a hairpin bend coming southeast from Galwan Valley and turning southwest.
• The area is north of the Karakoram Range of mountains, which lies north of the Pangong Tso lake, and south east of Galwan Valley.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.