Daily Current Affairs MCQ- September 9, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

By the end of 2022, India will establish the country’s first Dark Sky Reserve in the cold desert regions of Ladakh.

This was announced recently by the Minister of State (Independent charge) for Science and Technology.

• A Dark Sky Reserve is public or private land with a distinguished nocturnal environment and starry nights that has been developed responsibly to prevent light pollution.
• According to the International Dark Sky Association (IDSA) website, these reserves consist of:
  • a core area meeting minimum criteria for sky quality and natural darkness, and
  • a peripheral area that supports dark sky preservation in the core.

Hence both statements are correct.

While details of the tragic circumstances in which former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry lost his life are yet to be officially stated, it appears passengers in the back seat of the Mercedes were not wearing seatbelts.

• Seat belts came into existence in the late 1800s. Invented by George Cayley, an English aviation innovator, the original purpose behind their creation was to ensure that pilots were kept inside their gliders.
• It was not until February 10, 1885 that the first patented seat belt came into existence.
• Created by Edward J Claghorn, it was meant to keep tourists safe in New York City taxis. Ever since, seat belts have gradually made their way into our daily lives and have rightfully become our first line of defence while on the move on roads across the world.

The 3-point seat belt

• The seat belt as we know it now came into existence in 1959 after Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the V-type three-point seat belt at the behest of Volvo.
• Up until then, seat belts were two-point lap belts — as we now see in aeroplanes.

Required by the law

• Rule 138(3) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, makes it mandatory for the rear passengers too to wear seat-belts.
• Further, non-wearing of seat-belts by the driver or passengers has been made punishable with a fine of one thousand rupees according to Section 194B(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (as amended by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The country has witnessed substantial reduction in pupil-teacher ratio over the last one decade.

• According to Ministry of Education, in Primary Schools, the pupil teacher ratio which was at 43 in 2010-11 has come down to 26.3 in 2020- 21.
• While in Upper Primary schools, the pupil-teacher ratio has reduced from 33 in 2010-11 to 18.9 in 2020-21.
• The Pupil Teacher Ratio at different levels of education show availability of adequate number of teachers for teaching children enrolled at different grade.
• The increase in number of teachers in schools is contributing to focused delivery of education.

Hence both statements are correct.

The National Medical Commission (NMC), the apex regulatory body of medical professionals in India, has written to all State Medical Councils, banning conversion therapy and calling it a “professional misconduct”.

• The NMC was following a Madras High Court directive to issue an official notification listing conversion therapy as a wrong, under the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquettes and Ethics) Regulations, 2002.
• Conversion or reparative therapy is an intervention aimed at changing the sexual orientation or gender identity of an individual with the use of either psychiatric treatment, drugs, exorcism and even violence, with the aim being to make the individual a heterosexual.
• The conversion therapy umbrella also includes efforts to change the core identity of youth whose gender identity is incongruent with their sex anatomy.
• Often, the therapy is offered by quacks with little expertise in dealing with the issue.

Hence both statements are correct.

On the occasion of Teacher's Day today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a new initiative - the development and upgradation of 14 thousand 500 schools across the country under the Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM-SHRI) Yojana.

• These PM-SHRI schools will become model schools which will encapsulate the full spirit of National Education Policy. The PM-SHRI schools will have a modern, transformational and holistic method of imparting education.
• The new National Education Policy was launched in 2020. The NEP replaced the 34-year-old National Policy on Education framed in 1986 and is aimed at paving the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems.

Hence both statements are correct.

EWS reservation was granted based on the recommendations of a commission headed by Major General (retd) S R Sinho.

The Commission for Economically Backward Classes was constituted by the then Union government in 2005, and submitted its report in 2010.

To implement this, a Cabinet Note was prepared by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2019.

Based on this, the Cabinet, in 2019, decided to amend the Constitution (103rd Amendment) to provide reservation to EWS.

Hence both statements are correct.

Facing the worst flooding disaster in its history, Pakistan has begun demanding reparations, or compensation, from the rich countries that are mainly responsible for causing climate change.

• The demand for compensation for loss and damage from climate disasters is an extension of the universally acknowledged “Polluter Pays” principle that makes the polluter liable for paying not just for the cost of remedial action, but also for compensating the victims of environmental damage caused by their actions.
• In the climate change framework, the burden of responsibility falls on those rich countries that have contributed most of the greenhouse gas emissions since 1850, generally considered to be the beginning of the industrial age.
• Historical responsibility is important because carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, and it is the cumulative accumulation of this carbon dioxide that causes global warming. A country like India, currently the third largest emitter, accounts for only 3% of historical emissions. China, which is the world’s biggest emitter for over 15 years now, has contributed about 11% to total emissions since 1850.
• The Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) for Loss and Damages, set up in 2013, was the first formal acknowledgment of the need to compensate developing countries struck by climate disasters.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Outgoing Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Jonson likened his exit to that of 5th Century BC Roman emperor Cincinnatus, drawing reactions from commentators and historians given Cincinnatus’s rule as a dictator.

• Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (519 BC to 438 BC) was a Roman emperor whose name is invoked to refer to an honourable and principled figure.
• The story of Cincinnatus is about the Aequians, powerful enemies of Rome that were threatening to invade the city. Unable to deal with the crisis, the Roman Senate decided to bring in Cincinnatus to fight off the attack. He had been living a life away from power, and the senate was prepared to give him powers to exercise a dictatorship for securing a victory.
• When he learned of the call, Cincinnatus “left his plow standing in the field” and left to lead the Romans to victory against the Aequians. However, 15 days later when his goal was accomplished, he went back to his farm and let go of extraordinary power.

Hence both statements are correct.

National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Vice-Chairman Arun Haldar directed bankers to meet the targets set by the Central Government in implementing programmes for the welfare of SCs.

• The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is an Indian constitutional body under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.
• It has been established with a view to provide safeguards against the exploitation of Scheduled Castes to promote and protect their social, educational, economic and cultural interests, special provisions were made in the Constitution.
• Article 338 of the Indian constitution deals with National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
• The first Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was set up in August 1978.
• Consequent upon the Constitution (Eighty-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2003 the erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been replaced by
  • National Commission for Scheduled Castes and
  • National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina held bilateral talks in New Delhi to review and further strengthen the all-encompassing India-Bangladesh partnership.

• The India-Bangladesh delegation level talks were led by both leaders. Issues related to connectivity, energy, water resources, trade and investment, border management and security, development partnership and regional and multilateral matters were on the agenda.
• Two leaders jointly unveiled Unit-I of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project following bilateral and delegation level talks in Delhi. The project is being constructed under India’s concessional financing scheme. It will add 1320 MW to Bangladesh’s National Grid.
• Seven MoUs, including on water resources, railways, science and technology, space technology were exchanged following the talks. This includes an MoU between Prasar Bharati and Bangladesh Television on cooperation in the field of broadcasting.
• Prime Minister Modi announced that an important agreement on water sharing from the Kushiyara River has been signed. This will benefit Southern Assam in India and Sylhet region in Bangladesh.

Hence both statements are correct.