Daily Current Affairs MCQ- July 1, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, Indian wrestlers and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) Athletes Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are set to head out to Kyrgystan and Hungary for international training camps.

• In order to improve India’s performance at Olympics and Paralympics it was started the September 2014. 
• It is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which is an attempt to provide assistance to India’s top athletes.
• It was revamped in 2018 to include a technical support team to manage the TOPS athletes and offer comprehensive assistance. 
• The Ministry prioritises the selection of TOPS members, with an emphasis on ensuring representation from high-priority sports such as Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Hockey, Shooting, and Wrestling.
• Category: The sports persons are selected mainly in two categories namely; the Core Group and the Development Group.
• Out of Pocket Allowance’ of Rs 50,000 per month is given to the selected Athletes in Core Group and Rs 25,000 per month to athletes in Development Group for meeting contingent and miscellaneous expenses.
• To provide assistance to athletes selected under the Scheme, a dedicated body called the Mission Olympic Cell was established.
• This body operates under the leadership of the Director General of the Sports Authority of India. 

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued scheme guidelines for implementation of strategic interventions for green hydrogen transition (SIGHT) programme.

• It is a sub component under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
• Aim of the programme:
• Component I: It aims at providing electrolyzer manufacturing incentives with a total outlay of INR 4440 crore
• Component II: It focuses on green hydrogen production with financial outlay of INR 13050 crore.
• Implementing agency: The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) would be the implementing agency responsible for the scheme’s execution.

Key facts about National Green Hydrogen Mission

• It was launched in 2022, with the goal of making India energy independent and decarbonising major sectors of the economy.
• Benefits of this mission
• India’s Green Hydrogen production capacity is likely to reach at least 5 MMT per annum, with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW. 
• The targets by 2030 are likely to bring in over Rs. 8 lakh crore investments.
• Nearly 50 MMT per annum of CO2 emissions are expected to be averted by 2030.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the British children’s writer and performance poet Michael Rosen has been awarded the prestigious PEN Pinter Prize 2023.

• It was established in 2009 in memory of Nobel-Laureate playwright Harold Pinter. 
• The winner must be the author of a significant body of plays, poetry, essays, or fiction of outstanding literary merit, written in English.
• It is given to a writer from the UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth whose work is committed to a fearless exposition of truth about contemporary life.
• The prize is shared with an international writer of courage selected by English PEN’s Writers at Risk Committee in association with the winner.
• This half of the prize is awarded to someone who has been persecuted for speaking out about their beliefs.
• Some of the Previous this award winning writers are Malorie Blackman(2022), TsitsiDangarembga (2021) HanifKureishi (2010), Salman Rushdie (2014), and LemnSissay (2019).

Who is Michael Rosen?

• He is known for making poetry accessible to children through his work and performances and themes are often social, political and ethical.
• In over 140 books, he has championed a way of writing for children which reflects their everyday worlds, using humour and wordplay to validate their imaginative ways of thinking.

Hence both statements are not correct.

An adult tiger was recently killed in Satpura Tiger Reserve, allegedly by poachers who carried away its head.

About Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR):

• Location:
• It is located in the Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh.
• It is located in the Satpura ranges of the Central Indian Landscape.
• It lies south of the river Narmada.
• Satpura, basically meaning "Seven Folds", forms a watershed between Narmada and Tapti Rivers.
• Corridor: It has corridor connectivity with Pench National Park.
• The habitat is also an important testimony to human evolution as it houses more than 50 rock shelters which are almost 1500 to 10,000 years old.
• Geological formations include the Deccan trap series, Gondwanas and Metamorphic rocks.
• Vegetation: Southern tropical moist deciduous forest, Southern tropical dry deciduous forest, Tropical riparian fringing forest, southern tropical thorn forest, central Indian sun tropical hill forest, Dry and moist grassland.
• Flora:
• It has a variety of flora typical of the Central Indian Highlands. These include teak, bamboo, Indian Ebony, various acacias, wild mango, Indian gooseberry, satinwood etc.
• Twenty-six species of the Himalayan region and 42 species of Nilgiri areas are found. Hence STR is also known as the northern extremity of the Western Ghats.
• Fauna: Tiger is the charismatic species along with other mammals like Gaur, Sambhar, Chital, besides co predators, birds, reptiles and fishes.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Nord Security, home to NordVPN, NordLayer, NordPass, and NordLocker, recently joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) community.

About United Nations Global Compact (UNGC):

• UNGC is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
• Launched in 2000, UNGC is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 15,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and more than 70 Local Networks.
• This UN-led initiative promotes activities that contribute to sustainable development goals to create a better world.
• The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact:
• Derived from core United Nations conventions and declarations, the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact are recognized and endorsed in numerous intergovernmental resolutions and outcome documents, including General Assembly resolutions.
• Companies that join the compact are expected to integrate these principles into their corporate strategies, culture, and day-to-day operations.
• Companies are also expected to advocate the principles publicly and communicate with stakeholders on progress toward meeting the principles.
• Any company that commits to upholding the principles may join the compact, which is not legally binding and is purely voluntary. 
• The 10 principles for businesses, as stated on the UN Global Compact’s website, are the following:
• Human Rights:
• Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
• Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. 
• Labour:
• Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
• Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
• Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
• Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. 
• Environment:
• Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
• Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
• Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies. 
• Anti-Corruption:
• Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-appointed director, recently resigned from the board of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB).

About Small Finance Banks (SFBs):

• SFBs are specialized banks that are licensed by RBI to provide financial services and products to low-income individuals and underserved communities, including microfinance and micro-enterprise services, as well as other basic banking services. 
• Aim:
• To provide financial inclusion to these segments of the population who are often excluded from the traditional banking system. 
• SFBs help them to have access to financial products such as small loans, savings, insurance, and other basic banking services.
• SFBs are registered as public limited companies under the Companies Act, 2013 and governed by Banking Regulations Act, 1949; RBI Act, 1934 and other relevant Statutes and Directives from time to time. 
• The guidelines for SFBS were introduced in 2014 by RBI. RBI Guidelines on SFBs in India are:
• SFBs are granted the scheduled bank status after being operational and are deemed suitable under section 42 of the RBI Act,1934. 
• SFBs are required to primarily focus on providing access to financial services to the unbanked and underbanked segments of the population.
• They are required to maintain a minimum Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 15%.
• They are required to extend 75% of their Adjusted Net Bank Credit to Priority Sector Lending.
• SFBs are required to open at least 25% of their total branches in unbanked rural areas.
• The minimum paid-up voting equity capital for small finance banks shall be Rs.200 crore.
• SFBs are required to maintain at least 50% of their loan portfolio as microfinance and advances of up to Rs. 25,00,000.
• SFBs are required to comply with various prudential norms and regulations related to income recognition, asset classification, and provisioning.
• SFBs are encouraged to adopt technology to improve their operational efficiency and reach the target segments.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Kerala High Court recently held that an application for education loan by a student could not be rejected on the ground of a low CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited) score.

About CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited) score:

• It is a three-digit numeric summary of your credit history.
• CIBIL or Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited maintains and calculates your credit score.
• Value: The value of Credit Score may range between 300 to 900. 
• Lenders can check the CIBIL report and CIBIL Score/CIBIL Rank to evaluate the risk of lending to applicants and accordingly approve or reject new loan/credit card applications
• The closer a CIBIL Score is to 900, the higher are the chances of the consumer's credit card or loan application getting approved.
• How is CIBIL Score calculated?
• It is derived using the credit history found in the CIBIL Report. 
• It takes into account borrowers’ credit profile over the last 36 months.
• The credit profile includes all kinds of loans such as home loans, credit cards, personal loans, automobile loans, overdraft facilities etc that one has availed and their payment history.

Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL):

• It is the leading credit bureau and Credit Information Company (CIC) licensed by Reserve Bank of India.
• Primary Function: To collect and maintain financial data as provided by the lenders to further generate and provide credit reports and credit scores for its customers.
• It maintains credit files on 600 million individuals and 32 million businesses.
• CIBIL India is part of TransUnion, an American multinational group. Hence credit scores are known in India as the CIBIL Transunion score.

What is CIBIL Report?

• It is a consolidated credit report that includes the consumer's CIBIL Score and credit summary, personal information, contact information, employment information, and loan account information.
• It is important to note that lenders consider both the CIBIL Score and Report to assess a person's loan eligibility.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union government proposes to sell up to 3% stake in state-owned coal India through an offer for sale (OFS).

About Offer For Sale (OFS):

• What is it? OFS is a simpler method of share sale through the exchange platform for listed companies.
• The OFS method was brought in by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2012 as a simpler one to aid promoters of listed forms to dilute their stake  and comply with the minimum public shareholding norms by June 2013.
• The method was largely adopted by listed companies, both state-run and private, to adhere to the SEBI order.
• Later, the government started using this route to divest its shareholding in public sector enterprises.
• Features:
• Unlike a follow-on public offering (FPO), where companies can raise funds by issuing fresh shares or promoters can sell their existing stakes, or both, the OFS mechanism is used only when existing shares are put on the block.
• Only promoters or shareholders holding more than 10 per cent of the share capital in a company can come up with such an issue.
• The mechanism is available to 200 top companies in terms of market capitalisation.
• In an OFS, a minimum of 25 per cent of the shares offered, are reserved for mutual funds (MFs) and insurance companies. At any point, no single bidder other than these two institutional categories is allocated more than 25 per cent of the size of the offering.
• A minimum of 10 per cent of the offer size is reserved for retail investors.
• A seller can offer a discount to retail investors either on the bid price or on the final allotment price.
• It is mandatory for the company to inform the stock exchanges two banking days prior to the OFS about its intention.
• Anyone can bid for these shares, be it foreign institutional investors, retail investors or companies.

Hence both statements are not correct.

A Himalayan brown bear was recently captured by the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Department, at Rajwara in the North Kashmir district of Handwara.

About Himalayan Brown Bear:

• It is a large carnivore found in the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas. 
• Scientific Name: Ursus arctos isabellinus
• Distribution:
• They are found in North-western and central Himalaya, including Pakistan, India, Nepal, the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China and Bhutan. 
• They are found above the timberline, between 3,000 and 5,500 meters (9,800 and 18,000 feet) above sea level.
• In India, this species exists in small isolated populations in the fragmented alpine and subalpine habitats of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. 
• Features:
• It is the largest mammal in the region, males reaching up to 2.2 m (7 ft) long, while females are a little smaller.
• The bears are omnivorous and hibernate in dens during the winter. 
• It has thick fur which is most often sandy or reddish-brown in colour. 
• Conservation Status:
• IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
• Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972: Schedule I
• CITES - Appendix I

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Researchers in Switzerland recently developed a new, autonomous fish robot named Belle, capable of giving conservationists a clearer picture of the organisms that live under the sea without disturbing the marine environment.

About Belle Robot:

• It is an autonomous underwater robot designed to collect DNA samples and film underwater without disrupting the delicate ecosystem it explores. 
• Objective: By analyzing DNA samples and video footage collected by the robot, researchers aim to better understand the impact of human activities on marine life and develop targeted conservation strategies.
• Features:
• Belle is silent, moves like a fish and doesn’t create a disruptive wake as she moves through her environment.
• It employs artificial intelligence (AI) to autonomously manoeuver and capture isolated e-DNA samples, as well as high-resolution video footage. 
• Measuring just under a metre and weighing almost 10 kg out of the water, Belle is propelled by a silicone fin with two cavities into which water is pumped in cycles.
• These cavities are filled and emptied with water through a pump system that moves the fin back and forth.
• Additionally, its soft tail mimics the rising and falling motion of a fish, creating no disturbance or turbulence in the water, allowing it to blend effortlessly with other marine creatures.

Hence option c is the correct answer.