Daily Current Affairs MCQ- August 27, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

A new infection dubbed tomato flu, or tomato fever, has been detected in India mostly among children younger than five, according to a report in the Lancet Respiratory Journal.

• The “non-life-threatening” virus was first identified in Kollam district of Kerala on May 6.
• The primary symptoms of tomato flu are similar to those of chikungunya, which include high fever, rashes, and intense pain in the joints. As with other viral infections, further symptoms include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration, swelling of joints, body aches, and common influenza-like symptoms, which are similar to those manifested in dengue.
• As tomato flu is similar to chikungunya and dengue as well as hand, foot, and mouth disease, the treatment is also similar — isolation, rest, plenty of fluids, and hot water sponge for the relief of irritation and rashes.
• Supportive therapy of paracetamol for fever and body ache and other symptomatic treatments may be required. Young children are also prone to this infection through the use of nappies, touching unclean surfaces, and putting things directly into the mouth.
• The ‘tomato flu’ is caused by Coxsackie virus A 16. It belongs to Enterovirus family.

Hence both statements are correct.

The New Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, which sought to ensure optimum revenue for the State government and confront the sale of spurious or bootlegged liquor ran widespread allegations of “procedural lapses,”.

• This has forced the government to scrap it with effect from August 1, 2022
• Under the new policy, the number of liquor vends in Delhi would have increased from around 630 to 850 — all privately owned and operated. One person could hold more than one liquor retail licence and the “heavily regulated” excise regime was to be eased for business.
• The revamped excise policy ran into controversy as private liquor vends were opening up across the capital. Many of these vends were sealed by the MCD for various violations related to non-conforming areas where certain businesses such as liquor retail are not allowed.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Government has launched Rashtriya Puruskar Portal to bring together all the awards of the various Ministries, Departments and agencies of the government under one platform. This has been done to ensure transparency and public partnership.

• Home Ministry in a statement said that this common portal facilitates every citizen or organization to nominate individuals or organizations for various awards instituted by the government. It informed that the nominations or recommendations for the Padma Awards are open till 15th of next month, while nominations or recommendations for Jeevan Raksha Padak will be invited till 30th of next month.

Hence both statements are correct.

India secured the third rank in medal tally at the 15th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA).

• India held the third position jointly with Singapore with students winning three gold and two silver medals.
• The 15th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2022 held in Kutaisi, Georgia, from 14 to 21 August, 2022.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is currently in Canada for the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, will travel to Mexico where he will unveil statue of Maharashtra-born freedom fighter and agriculturalist Pandurang Khankhoje (1883-1967).

• Khankhoje had a close connection with Mexico, the country in which he sought refuge due to his association with the radical pro-Indian independence Ghadar Party.
• Born in Wardha, Maharashtra, in the late 19th century, Pandurang Khankhoje came in contact with other revolutionaries early on.
• Khankhoje was one of the founding members of the Ghadar Party, established by Indians living abroad in 1914, mostly belonging to Punjab. Its aim was to lead a revolutionary fight against the British in India.
• The Mexican Revolution of 1910 had led to the overthrow of the dictatorial regime, and this inspired Khankhoje.

Hence both statements are correct.

A Court of Inquiry (Col) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) into the accidental firing of a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in March 2022, which landed in Pakistan, found that deviation from standard operating procedures (SOP) by three officers led to the incident. Services of the officers have been terminated with immediate effect, the IAF said.

• The missile landed 124 km inside Pakistan, following which the IAF ordered a CoI headed by an Air Vice-Marshal, a two-star officer, to investigate the incident.
• A day after the incident, the Pakistan military said the supersonic surface-to-surface missile flying at three times the speed of sound at 40,000 feet ended up 124 km inside Pakistan, damaging some civilian property.
• BrahMos is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia-based NPO Mashinostroyeniya and the missile derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Finance Ministry on Monday released the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022 subsuming extant regulations for Overseas Investments and Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property Outside India Regulations, 2015.

• With an eye on wilful defaulters, the new rules stipulate that any Indian resident who has an account appearing as a non-performing asset; or is classified as a wilful defaulter by any bank; or is under investigation by a financial service regulator or by investigative agencies in India, will have to seek an no objection certificate before making any overseas financial commitment.
• Any resident in India acquiring equity capital in a foreign entity or overseas direct investment (ODI), will have to submit an Annual Performance Report (APR) for each foreign entity, every year by December 31.
• No such reporting shall be required where a person resident in India is holding less than 10% of the equity capital without control in the foreign entity and there is no other financial commitment other than equity capital or a foreign entity is under liquidation.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Supreme Court declared as “unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary” the amendments introduced to the Benami law in 2016, which apply retrospectively and can send a person to prison for three years even as it empowers the Centre to confiscate “any property” subject to a benami transaction.

• In a decision much awaited by businesses, a three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, declared as unconstitutional Sections 3(2) and 5 introduced through the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016. The 2016 law amended the original Benami Act of 1988, expanding it to 72 Sections from a mere nine.
• Section 3(2) mandates three years of imprisonment for those who had entered into benami transactions between September 5, 1988 and October 25, 2016. That is, a person can be sent behind bars for a benami transaction entered into 28 years before the Section even came into existence.
• Justice Ramana, who wrote the 96-page judgment, held that the provision violated Article 20(1) of the Constitution. Article 20(1) mandates that no person should be convicted of an offence, which was not in force “at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence”.
• Section 5 of the 2016 Amendment Act said that “any property, which is subject matter of benami transaction, shall be liable to be confiscated by the Central Government”. The court held that this provision cannot be applied retrospectively.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy successfully flight-tested the indigenously developed Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

• The VL-SRSAM, a ship-borne weapon system, is meant for neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges, including sea-skimming targets, and was last test-fired in June.
• The flight test was carried out from an Indian naval ship against a high-speed unmanned aerial target for demonstration of vertical launch capability. The missiles, equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) seeker, intercepted the target with high accuracy.
• During the test launch, flight path and vehicle performance parameters were monitored using flight data captured by various range instruments, the statement said.

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry released the Booklets and Documents on Future Ready Commerce at a function in New Delhi.

• It comprised of fourteen volume Restructuring Dossier of ‘Department of Commerce which has been created to facilitate transition.
• The restructuring programme for Department of Commerce has been undertaken with the key objective to equip the ecosystem to achieve two trillion dollar export target by 2030. Under it a dedicated Trade Promotion Body will also be set up to drive overall promotion strategy.
• He said, the 14 volumes defines the role of each section within the department and lays down the expected outcomes and key performance indicators.
• The restructuring exercise rests on five major objectives including to increase India's share in global trade, assume leadership position in multilateral organisations like WTO and democratisation of trade.

Hence both statements are correct.