Daily Current Affairs MCQ- July 11, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

According to a recent report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), 50,000 wild species meet the needs of billions of people around the world.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

• The IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body established in Panama City, on 21 April 2012 by 94 Governments.
• At present, it comprises 139 member Governments and is often described as the “IPCC for biodiversity.”
• It aims to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development.
• It provides policymakers with objective scientific assessments of the state of knowledge about the planet's biodiversity, ecosystems and the contributions they make to people.
• It also provides tools and methods for protecting and using these vital natural assets in a sustainable manner.
• It is not a United Nations body, but at the request of the IPBES Plenary and with the authorization of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council (in 2013), the UNEP provides secretariat services to IPBES.

Hence both statements are correct.

India’s defence exports for 2021-22 were estimated at ₹13,000 crore, the highest ever, the Defence Ministry said.

• The U.S. was a major buyer, as also nations in Southeast Asia, West Asia and Africa.
• The private sector accounted for 70% of the exports, while public sector firms accounted for the rest. Earlier, the private sector used to account for 90% but now the share of defence public sector units had gone up.
• While India’s defence imports from the U.S. have gone up significantly in recent years, Indian companies have been increasingly becoming part of the supply chains of U.S. defence companies.
• In January, India signed a $374.96-million deal with the Philippines, its single biggest defence export order, for the supply of three batteries of shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

Hence both statements are correct.

National Monuments Authority has recommended two sites associated with architect of the Indian Constitution Babsaheb Ambedkar to be declared as Monuments of National importance.

• Culture Ministry said, Sankalp Bhumi Banyan tree campus in Vadodara, where Dr. Ambedkar had taken a resolve to eradicate untouchability on 23th September, 1917 be declared as Monument of National Importance.
• This place is more than hundred years old and a witness to the beginning of social respect revolution heralded by Dr. Ambedkar.
• The National Monuments Authority has also recommended a place in Satara in Maharashtra where Dr Ambedkar received his primary education in Pratap Rao Bhosle High School to be declared as monument of National importance.

Hence both statements are correct.

The 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will happen in November in Bali, Indonesia. After Indonesia, India will assume the presidency of G20 from December 2022.

• The G20 was formed in 1999 in the backdrop of the financial crisis of the late 1990s that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia in particular.
• Its aim was to secure global financial stability by involving middle-income countries.
• The first G20 Summit took place in 2008 in Washington DC, US.

Members

• Its prominent members are: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the EU. Spain is invited as a permanent guest.
• Together, the G20 countries include 60 per cent of the world’s population, 80 per cent of global GDP, and 75 per cent of global trade.

Troika

• The presidency of the G20 rotates every year among members, and the country holding the presidency, together with the previous and next presidency-holder, forms the ‘Troika’ to ensure continuity of the G20 agenda. Italy, Indonesia, and India are the Troika countries right now.

How does the G20 work?

• The G20 has no permanent secretariat. The agenda and work are coordinated by representatives of the G20 countries, known as ‘Sherpas’, who work together with the finance ministers and governors of the central banks. India recently said ex-NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant would be the G20 Sherpa after Piyush Goyal.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

• The Kisan Credit Card (KCC)scheme was introduced in 1998 for providing adequate and timely credit support from the banking system, under a single window with the flexible and simplified procedure to the farmers for their cultivation and other needs like the purchase of agriculture inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. and draw cash for their production needs. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It is Implemented by the Agencies like Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Small Finance Banks, and Cooperative Banks. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

• Recently, the central government issued guidelines to states about the Mission Vatsalya child protection scheme.
• According to the guidelines, states cannot change the original name of the scheme in order to gain access to funding granted by the central government. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• It will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with state governments and UT administrations, with a fund-sharing pattern in a 60:40 ratio. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • However, for the eight states in the Northeast — as well as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir — the Centre and state/UT’s share will be 90:10
• MVS, in partnership with states and districts, will execute a 24×7 helpline service for children, as defined under Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
• It will support State Adoption Resource Agencies (SARA), which will further support the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in promoting in-country adoption and regulating inter-country adoption. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• The Mission plans to establish cradle baby reception centers in at least one specialized adoption agency in each area for receiving abandoned and trafficked children.
• Children in need of care, as well as special needs children, will be placed in distinct homes based on gender (including separate homes for transgender children) and age.

• Gigamesh has been developed by Astrome, a deep-tech startup expediting the implementation of 5G and rural telecommunications infrastructure through its patented millimetre wave E-band radios and satellite communication solutions. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It will address congestion issues in rural 4G infrastructure and provide high-tech and affordable internet connectivity. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The startup is supported by AI & Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK), the Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
• It's a network solution which will wirelessly provide fibre-like backhaul capacity and pave the road for 5G.
• It is the world's first multi-beam E-band Radio that is able to communicate from one tower to multiple towers simultaneously while delivering multi GBPS throughput to each of these towers. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• A single GigaMesh device can provide up to forty links with 2+ Gbps capacity, communicating up to a range of ten kilometers.
• Gigamesh features multiple point-to-point communication in E-Band, lowering cost and is driven by software to make it easy to deploy, maintain and repair remotely.

• The metaverse is not a new idea, science fiction writer Neal Stephenson coined the term in 1992. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Metaverse is the next version of the Internet focused on social connection.
  • It can be defined as a simulated digital environment that uses Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and blockchain, along with concepts from social media, to create spaces for rich user interaction mimicking the real world.
• It can be imagined as a 3D virtual world, with ever-evolving aspects which are collectively shared by its inhabitants - a virtual world with real-time events and an online infrastructure. Hence statement 2 is correct.
  • In theory, it encapsulates everything that’s happening into the real world and will bring real-time events and updates going forward. The user exists in a virtual world without borders.

• The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) issued orders under Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to take down certain posts from Twitter (Microblogging Site). Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• Twitter has moved to Karnataka High Court, claiming that many of the blocking orders are procedurally and substantively deficient under Section 69 (A) of the Act.
• Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act :It confers on the Central and State governments the power to issue directions “to intercept, monitor or decrypt any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource”.
• Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 made it a punishable offence for any person to send 'grossly offensive' or 'menacing' information using a computer resource or communication device.
• Shreya Singhal v. Union of India 2015
  • The Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, relating to restrictions on online speech, as unconstitutional on grounds of violating the freedom of speech guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.
  • Hence statement 2 is not correct.

In a boost for the Central government’s GatiShakti scheme, states are being brought on board for real-time project coordination and collective decision-making.

PM GatiShakti - National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity:

• It is a master plan for multi-modal connectivity (launched in October 2021), to give more speed (Gati) and power (Shakti) to infrastructure projects.
• It does so by connecting all concerned Ministries (16 Ministries including Railways and Roadways) on one digital platform.
• While the Government has not specified the size of the programme in financial terms, it will subsume the Rs 110 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (launched in 2019).

Hence both statements are correct.