Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 18-07-19 | PDF Downloads

MCQ 1

1. Vote of trust is brought up by the opposition parties to expose the govt that they don’t have the majority.
2. It is decided by the voting on the basis of total strength of the house.

 Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
 (D)None
MCQ 2
Recognize a country

1. Is a charter member of the UN, an early member of NATO, the IMF and the world bank
2. A founding member of the OECD, OSCE, BSEC, OIC and G-20 3. Kurds are largest minority

(A) Iran
(B) Lebanon
(C)Turkey
(D) Saudi Arabia
is a transcontinental country located mainly in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. East Thrace, located in Europe, is separated from Anatolia by the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorous strait and the Dardanelles (collectively called the Turkish Straits). Turkey is bordered by Greece and Bulgaria to its northwest; Georgia to its northeast; Armenia, the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the south. Istanbul is the largest city, but more central Ankara is the capital. Approximately 70 to 80 per cent of the country’s citizens identify as Turkish. Kurds are the largest minority; the size of the Kurdish population is a subject of dispute with estimates placing the figure at anywhere from 12 to 25 per cent of the population.

MCQ 3

1. Ebola kills Humans and fruit bats only.
2. World Health Organization has declared the recent Congo Ebola outbreak a World health emergency.
3. It spreads to humans with uncooked bushmeats only.

Choose correct
(A) 1 & 2
(B)2 only
(C) 2 & 3
(D) None

 Ebola – An international emergency

• The World Health Organization (WHO) declared ‘Ebola virus’ outbreak in Congo as an international health emergency.
• The outbreak, the second largest in history, has killed more than 1,600 people in Congo.
• Ebola is a rare but deadly virus that causes sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat.
• It progresses to vomiting, diarrhoea and both internal and external bleeding.
• It is formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease (EVD).
• It spreads to humans by contact with the skin or bodily fluids of an infected animal, like a monkey, chimp, or fruit bat.
• It also spreads between humans through direct contact with an infected person.
• It can spread quickly and can be fatal in up to 90% of cases
• Patients tend to die from dehydration and multiple organ failure.
• Vaccines to protect against Ebola are under development.
• There is no licensed Ebola treatment, but early care such as rehydration helps to improve the chances of survival.
• An experimental vaccine “rVSV-ZEBOV” proved highly protective and is being used in the ongoing outbreak in Congo.
• So, declaring a ‘global health emergency’ by WHO often brings an increase in international attention and aid.

MCQ 4
What is a ploonet

1. A Software based on AI to filter informations
2. A mammal
3. Moons of exoplanets
4. None

Ploonet

• When the moons of exoplanets break away from their own orbits, went rogue and acts like a planet, it is called “Ploonet.”
• It gets it name from ‘Planet + moon = Ploonet’.
• As the exoplanets move inward toward their suns, the orbits of their moons are often disrupted.
• So the moon may run away from their exoplanets and could become ‘Ploonets’, according to new study models.
• This is because of the combined gravitational forces of the planet and the star.
• This gravitational force would inject extra energy into the moon’s orbit, pushing it farther from its planet until eventually it escapes.
• This process happens in every planetary system composed of a giant planet in a very close-in orbit. • As for Earth’s own Moon, it is a potential ploonet.
• It moves about 4cm farther away from Earth every year.
• Going at this rate, it won’t break away from the Earth’s orbit for about next 5 billion years.
• However, astronomers not yet confirmed the existence of a single exomoon, it just remains hypothetical in research papers.
• Criteria to classify any object as a “Planet”, according to the International Astronomical Union are,
• i. It needs to be in orbit around a any fully fledged star.
• ii. It needs to have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape.
• iii. It has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit

MCQ 5
Bimal Jalan committee is for

1. One nation one election Issue
2. Electoral reforms
3. NPA settlements
4. RBI reserves sharing issue Jalan

committee report

• It was set up to review the economic capital framework of the RBI.
• According to Section 47 of the RBI Act, profits of the RBI are to be transferred to the government, after making various contingency provisions.
• The contingency provisions includes public policy mandate of the RBI, financial stability considerations etc.
• The committee proposes transfer of RBI reserves to govt in tranches over 3-5 years.
• It recommended transferring of funds from both contingency and revaluation reserves to the government.
• The panel has also sought a ‘period review’ of the RBI capital framework.
• In the past, the issue of the ideal size of RBI’s reserves was examined by three committees,

1. a) V Subrahmanyam (1997)
2. b) Usha Thorat (2004) and
3. c) Y H Malegam (2013).

• At present RBI continue with the recommendation of the Subrahmanyam panel.
• The RBI board did not accept the recommendation of other committees.
• For the year ending June 2018, RBI had total reserves of Rs 9.59 lakh crore.
• It comprises mainly currency and gold revaluation account (Rs 6.91 lakh crore) and contingency fund (Rs 2.32 lakh crore).
• The government was seeking Rs 3.6 lakh crore from the RBI.
• The transfer of surplus capital may help the government meet its fiscal deficit target.

MCQ 6

1. Commercial paper (CP) is a short-term debt instrument issued by RBI to companies.
2. It is generally to raise funds for a time period up to one year.

Choose correct
(A) Only 1
 (B)Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
Commercial paper(CP) – It is a short-term debt instrument issued by companies.

1. It is generally to raise funds for a time period up to one year.
2. It is an unsecured money market instrument.
3. Individuals, banking companies, other corporate bodies and nonresident Indians and FII can invest in CPs.

• Mutual Funds to NBFCs
• According to analysis by CARE Ratings, the overall exposure of Mutual Funds to NBFCs has declined. • It had declined from 19% (of the total funds) in July 2018 to 14.8% in June 2019.
• The fall is much steeper in the exposure of MFs to the ‘Commercial papers’ of NBFCs as against ‘Corporate debt’ of NBFCs.
• The recent crisis in the NBFC sector, lead to the overall decline of Mutual funds to NBFCs.
• Mutual Fund – It is a type of financial vehicle which collects money from investors and invests the money on their behalf.
• The investment can be in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other assets.
• NBFC – ‘Non-Banking Financial Company’ is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956. • They are the financial institutions that offer various banking services but do not have a banking license.
• They can lend and make investments but cannot accept demand deposits. cannot issue cheques drawn on itself.
• They are of two types, Deposit-taking NBFCs and Non-deposit taking NBFCs.
• NBFCs whose asset size is of Rs 500 cr or more are considered as ‘systemically important NBFCs’.
• Corporate debt – Debt markets are often called as “bond markets.”
• These are securities issued by private and public corporations.
• It is to raise money for a variety of purposes, such as building a new plant, growing the business, generally for a longterm.
• The company promises to return the principal money on a specified maturity date.
• It also pays interest in regular instalments, in most cases, every six months or once a year.
• They are less safe than government bonds.

MCQ 7

1. Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor.
2. A governor has more discretionary powers than the president of India 3. Governor is appointed by Govt of India

 Choose correct
(A) 1 & 2
(B) 2 & 3
(C) 1 & 3
(D) All

Article 157 in The Constitution Of India 1949 157.

• Qualifications for appointment as Governor No person shall be eligible for appointment as Governor unless he is a citizen of India and has completed the age of thirty five years
• Article 158 in The Constitution Of India 1949
• 158. Conditions of Governor office(1) The Governor shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State specified in the First Schedule, and if a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any such State be appointed Governor, he shall be deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as Governor
• (2) The Governor shall not hold any other office of profit
• (3) The Governor shall be entitled without payment of rent to the use of his official residences and shall be also entitled to such emoluments, allowances and privileges as may be determined by Parliament by law and, until provision in that behalf is so made, such emoluments, allowances and privileges as are specified in Second Schedule(3A) Where the same person is appointed as Governor of two or more States, the emoluments and allowances payable to the Governor shall be allocated among the States in such proportion as the President may by order determine
• (4) The emoluments and allowances of the Governor shall not be diminished during his term of office Context: By exercising his authority under Article 156 of the constitution, President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed new Governors for Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

Governors of States in India:

• Governor is the nominal head of a state, unlike the Chief Minister who is the real head of a state in India.
• According to an amendment in the Constitution of India (7th Constitutional Amendment Act), brought about in 1956, the same person can be the Governor of two or more states.

Appointment and removal:

• The governors and lieutenant-governors are appointed by the president for a term of 5 years.
• The term of governor’s office is normally 5 years but it can be terminated earlier by: Dismissal by the president on the advice of the prime minister of the country, at whose pleasure the governor holds office or Resignation by the governor. Thus, the term is subject to pleasure of the president.
• There is no provision of impeachment, as it happens for the president.
• Article 157 and Article 158of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor.

Powers:

• Like the President of India, the Governor of any state in India is vested with certain executive, legislative and judicial powers.
• He or she also possesses certain discretionary or emergency powers.
• But one major difference in the powers enjoyed by the President and those enjoyed by the Governor is, the Governor does not have any diplomatic or military powers.

Some discretionary powers are as follows:

• Governor can dissolve the legislative assemblyif the chief minister advices him to do following a vote of no confidence. Following which, it is up to the Governor what he/ she would like to do.
• Governor, on his/ her discretion can recommend the president about the failure of the constitutional machinery in the state.
• On his/ her discretion, the Governor can reserve a bill passed by the state legislature for president’s assent.
• If there is no political party with a clear-cut majority in the assembly, Governor on his/ her discretion can appoint anybody as chief minister.
• Governor determines the amount payable by the Government of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to an autonomous Tribal District Council as royalty accruing from licenses for mineral exploration.
• Governor can seek information from the chief minister with regard to the administrative and legislative matters of the state.
• Governor has discretion to refuse to sign to an ordinary bill passed by the state legislature.
• Problem with constitutional design:
• The governor is merely appointed by the president on the advice of the Central government.
• Unlike the president, a governor does not have a fixed term. He/she holds office at the pleasure of the ruling party in the centre. Both the manner of the appointment and the uncertainty of tenure conspire to make the incumbent an object of the Central government in politically charged circumstances.

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