Daily Current Affairs MCQ- October 19, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

2+2 Ministerial dialogue

• The 2+2 dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues.
• A 2+2 ministerial dialogue enables the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities taking into account political factors on both sides.
• India has 2+2 dialogues with four key strategic partners: US, Australia, Japan, and Russia.

Hence both statements are correct.

• Central Vista Redevelopment Project refers to the ongoing redevelopment to revamp the Central Vista, India's central administrative area located near Raisina Hill, New Delhi.
• The area was originally designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker during British colonial rule and was retained by Government of India after independence.
• In 2019, the Central government announced the redevelopment project to give a new identity to the ‘power corridor’ of India.
• The project aims to –
  • Revamp a 3 km long Rajpath (now renamed as Kartavya Path) between Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate,
  • Convert North and South Blocks to publicly accessible museums by creating a new common Central Secretariat to house all ministries,
  • A new Parliament building near the present one with increased seating capacity for future expansion,
  • New residence and office for the Vice-President and the Prime Minister near the North Block and South Block and
  • Convert some of the older structures into museums.

Hence both statements are correct.

The passing of Queen Elizabeth II is a delicate moment for the British Commonwealth, 14 countries out of which continue to recognise the monarch as their Head of State, a position that is explicitly stated in the constitutions and laws of some of these countries.

• The Commonwealth of Nations, or simply the Commonwealth, is a group of 56 member countries, the vast majority of which are former British colonies.
• They are mostly in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific. Three European nations are part of the Commonwealth: Cyprus, Malta, and of course, the UK itself.
• Fourteen of these 56 countries — along with the UK — constitute the “Commonwealth realms”.
• They are Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.
• The British monarch — now King Charles III, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II — is the head of state of these countries.
• Of the remaining 41 member states of the Commonwealth, 36 are republics — this group includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The other five — Brunei Darussalam, Lesotho, Malaysia, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Tonga — have their own monarchs.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced the results of India Water Pitch-Pilot-Scale start-up challenge launched under Amrut 2.0 in March this year.

• A total of 76 startup have been selected out of 222 entries, which through their innovative ideas will help local civic bodies and water supply departments conserve water and resolve its scarcity.
• The Minister declared the results in City-Startup Partnership Summit for Water Scarcity organised by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in New Delhi.
• The Ministry extended this challenge under the name “Startup Gateway.” The Challenge aims at empowering startups in the water/ used-water sector to grow through innovation and design that will drive sustainable economic growth and generate employment opportunities.
• Hundreds of startups representatives, Cities officials, academia and students participated in City-Startup Partnership Summit for Water Scarcity.

Hence both statements are correct.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the World Dairy Summit on 12th September in Noida.

• India is organising the summit after almost a 48-year gap bringing together approximately 1500 participants from all over the world including CEOs and employees of dairy processing companies, dairy farmers, and other stakeholders.
• Remembering the “Father of White Revolution”, Dr Verghese Kurien, it must be pointed out that India currently is the largest milk producer in the world, contributing 21 percent of the total global milk production.
• It was under the guidance of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri that the National Dairy Development Board was formed in 1965 in Gujarat with Dr Verghese Kurien as its first chairman.
• Operation Flood programme was implemented across country in various phases with a mandate to support the creation of the ‘Anand pattern’ of dairy cooperatives.
• The daily milk consumption in the country was 107 grams per person in 1970 which rose to 427 grams per person in 2020-21.

Hence both statements are correct.

Government of India has said export policy of broken rice has been amended to ensure adequate domestic availability.

• This has been done in order to ensure adequate availability of broken rice for consumption by domestic poultry industry and for other animal feedstock and to produce ethanol for successful implementation of EBP (Ethanol Blending Programme).
• About 50-60 Lakh Metric Tonnes of broken rice is produced annually in India which is mainly used as poultry feed and feed for other animals.
• It is also used as a feedstock by the grain-based distilleries for producing ethanol which is supplied to Oil Marketing Companies for blending with petrol.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Empowered Committee headed by CEO, NITI Aayog Parameswaran Iyer approved first ever disbursement of incentive for mobile manufacturing under the large-scale electronics manufacturing’ sector.

• The Production-Linked Incentive scheme for Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing is expected to make India a competitive destination for electronics manufacturing.
• It will also give a boost to Aatmanirbhar Bharat while creating more global champions.
• Padget Electronics Private Limited, a domestic company, is the first beneficiary approved by the Empowered Committee to receive incentive under mobile manufacturing based on its incremental investment and sales figures.
• NITI Aayog said, thirty-two beneficiaries had been approved under the PLI scheme for Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing. Of which five global and five domestic companies were approved for mobile manufacturing.
• The PLI scheme on Large-Scale Electronic Manufacturing, which includes manufacturing of mobile phones and manufacturing of specified electronic components, was approved in March 2020, with a total outlay of Rs 38,645 crores. 

Hence both statements are correct.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Centre- State Science Conclave on the 10th September via video conferencing.

• The first of its kind Conclave will strengthen Centre-State coordination and collaboration mechanisms - in the spirit of cooperative federalism - to build a robust science, technology & innovation (STI) ecosystem across the country.
• The two day Conclave is being organised at Science City, Ahmedabad on 10-11 September 2022.
• It will include sessions on different thematic areas including STI Vision 2047; Future Growth Pathways and Vision for STI in States; Health - Digital Health Care for All; Doubling Private Sector investment in R&D by 2030; Agriculture - Technological interventions for improving farmers’ income etc.
• The first of its kind Conclave will witness the participation of Gujarat CM, Union MoS Science & Technology (S&T), S&T Ministers and Secretaries of States & Union Territories, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, NGOs, young scientists and students.

Hence both statements are correct.

The President of India virtually launched the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan.

• The Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has been envisioned to bring together all community stakeholders to support those on TB treatment and accelerate the country’s progress towards TB elimination.
• According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, all nations have set the goal of eradicating TB by the year 2030. But the Government of India has set the target of eradicating TB by the year 2025.
• TB causes the largest number of deaths among all other infectious diseases in India. India has a little less than 20 percent of the world's population, but has more than 25 percent of the total TB patients of the world.

Hence both statements are correct.

The death of a 12-year-old girl in Kerala from rabies, despite having multiple inoculations of the vaccine, has raised questions on the efficacy of rabies vaccines in India and their availability.

• Rabies is a disease that is caused by a family of viruses called the lyssaviruses and found in a range of mammals. The virus targets the central nervous system and is nearly 100% fatal to the host animal if it succeeds in infecting it.
• Though many animals from cats to crocodiles can be transmitters of the virus, it is most likely to spread to people from the bite of an infected dog or a cat as they are the most common pets.
• Rabies is a disease that is caused by a family of viruses called the lyssaviruses and found in a range of mammals. The virus targets the central nervous system and is nearly 100% fatal to the host animal if it succeeds in infecting it.
• Though many animals from cats to crocodiles can be transmitters of the virus, it is most likely to spread to people from the bite of an infected dog or a cat as they are the most common pets.

Hence both statements are correct.