Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 30-10-19 | Free PDF

MCQ 1

1. OCIs (Overseas Citizen of India) are Indian citizens who have a lifetime visa to live and work in some other country
2. While OCIs have given up their full Indian citizenship, NRIs are still citizens of India. This is technically a tax classification as opposed to a visa status.

 Choose correct

(A) Only 1
 (B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

• NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) are Indian Citizens who live in another country.
• PIO (Person of Indian Origin) used to be a 15 year visa for non-Indian citizens, but it has since been removed.
• OCIs (Overseas Citizen of India) are non-Indian citizens who have a lifetime visa to live and work in India with fewer restrictions.

NRI

• While OCIs have given up their full Indian citizenship, NRIs are still citizens of India. This is technically a tax classification as opposed to a visa status.
•  Who can be an NRI?
• An Indian citizen residing outside India for a combined total of at least 183 days in a financial year (from April 1 to March 31).
• What are the benefits of being a NRI?
• You can get special bank accounts from Indian banks.
•  You can continue to own land and property in India.
• Your earnings outside India are not taxed by the Indian government, provided you have paid taxes in the nation you reside in. Local earnings in India (interest, rental income) are still taxed.
• There is a special quota of seats in Indian universities reserved for NRIs.
•  You can still vote, but you have to be in India to do it.
• What are the drawbacks?
• You may need permission to take out money invested in India.
•  You may not purchase agricultural land or farm houses.
• You may not hold a government job.
• You may not be elected to a political position.
•  How do you become an NRI?
• There is no application form needed. The only official record of being an NRI comes on your yearly tax filing. This status can change from year to year. If you wish to open an NRI bank account, you simply need to inform your bank of your plans.

OCI

• An Overseas Citizen of India is a lifetime visa status. It is the closest thing to dual citizenship that India offers.
• Who can be an OCI?
•  (This list was expanded as of 9 January 2015)
•  A person who used to be an Indian citizen A person with at least one parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent who is/was an Indian citizen
• A person married to an Indian citizen or an existing OCI for at least two continuous years The following groups of people cannot have OCI status:
• Anyone who was ever a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh Anyone whose parents or grandparents were citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, or Sri Lanka
•  Anyone who served in a foreign military or worked in a foreign defense department
• What are the benefits of being an OCI?
• Lifelong multiple entry visa to India
• You never have to report to the FRRO regardless of the length of your stay
• You can eventually become a citizen of India if you remain an OCI for 5 years and live in India for at least 1 year (short breaks are now allowed)
• You can use special counters during immigration
•  You don’t need a student visa to study in India
• You don’t need an employment visa to get a job
• You can open a special bank account in India, just like an NRI
•  You can make investments in India
• You can buy non-farm property and exercise property ownership rights Your can use your OCI card to apply for a driver’s license, open a bank account, or get a PAN card You get the same economic, financial, and education benefits as NRIs (e.g. reserved admission quotas), and you can adopt children like an NRI
•  You pay the Indian resident fee when visiting a national parks, monuments, museums or wildlife sanctuary (of course it is ultimately up to the discretion of the man issuing tickets)
•  What are the drawbacks?
•  You may not purchase agricultural land or farm houses
• You may not vote
• You may not hold a government job
• You may not be elected to a political position
• You may not travel to restricted areas without permission
•  How do you become an OCI?
• You can apply through the Indian embassy in your country of residence or within India at the local FRRO.
• Here is a sample of documentation you will need (see your local consulate for a specific list):
•  Proof of present citizenship
•  Proof of former Indian citizenship (for you or your relative) Proof of renunciation of Indian citizenship (if applicable)
•  Proof of relationship to an Indian citizen
• The entire process can take several months in some cases. Fees vary from nationality to nationality. If you apply in India, the fee is Rs. 15,000 for an adult or Rs. 8,000 for a minor. You can convert a PIO card to an OCI card if you qualify, and the fees are very nominal.

 Ministry of Finance

• PFRDA permitted now Overseas Citizen of India to enroll in NPS at par with Non-Resident Indians
• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has now permitted Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) to enroll in National Pension Scheme (NPS) at par with Non-Resident Indians vide Circular No: PFRDA/2019/19/PDES/3 dated 29th October 2019. The Government vide notification S.O. 3732(E) dated 17th October, 2019 on Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 of Dept. of Economic Affairs, has specified that an OCI may subscribe to the National Pension System governed and administered by PFRDA, provided such person is eligible to invest as per the provisions of the PFRDA Act and the annuity/accumulated saving will be repatriable, subject to FEMA guidelines.
• Contributions made towards NPS are eligible for an additional tax deduction under section 80CCD(1B) upto Rs. 50,000 which is over and above the Rs 1,50,000 limit of deduction available under sec 80CCD(1). In the Union Budget 2019, the tax exemption limit for lumpsum withdrawal on exit/maturity from NPS has been increased from the present 40% to 60% under section 10(12A) of the IT Act and the remaining 40% of the corpus is already tax-exempt as it is mandatorily utilized for annuity purchase.

About PFRDA:

• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is the statutory Authority established by an enactment of the Parliament, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the National Pension System (NPS) and pension schemes to which this Act applies. NPS was initially notified for central government employees joining service on or after 1st Jan 2004 and subsequently adopted by almost all State Governments for its employees. NPS was extended to all citizens of Indian on voluntary basis from May 2009 and to corporates in December 2011 and to Non-Resident Indians in October 2015.
• As on 26th October 2019, the total number of subscribers under NPS and Atal Pension Yojana has crossed 3.18 crores and the Asset under Management (AUM) has grown to Rs. 3,79,758 crores. More than 66 lakhs government employees have been enrolled under NPS and 19.2 lakhs subscribers have subscribed to NPS in the private sector with 6,812 entities registered as corporates.
• PFRDA in its endeavor to promote and develop NPS has taken several initiatives towards increasing the pension coverage in the country. Now, any Indian citizen, resident or non-resident and OCIs are eligible to join NPS till the age of 65 years.

MCQ 2

1. he was an Indian monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization SelfRealization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogada Satsanga Society (YSS) of India.
2. He is considered as the “Father of Yoga in the West.”
3. He published his book Autobiography of a Yogi

Choose correct personality

(A) Maharshi Chandraswami
 (B) Paramahansa Yogananda
(C) Ramkrishan Paramhansa
(D) Dayanand Saraswati

• Finance Minister Releases Commemorative Coin on Paramahansa Yogananda to Mark his 125th Birth Anniversary.

About Paramahansa Yogananda:

• Born in 1893, he was an Indian monk, yogi and guruwho introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) of India.
•  He is considered as the “Father of Yoga in the West.”
• He was the first major Indian teacher to settle in America, and the first prominent Indian to be hosted in the White House.
• He published his book Autobiography of a Yogiin 1946.

 What is Kriya Yoga?

• The “science” of Kriya Yoga is the foundation of Yogananda’s teachings. Kriya Yoga is “union (yoga) with the Infinite through a certain action or rite (kriya). The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centers (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses) which correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac, the symbolic Cosmic Man. One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment.

MCQ 3

 Expressing concern over the functioning of parliamentary institutions in the country and erosion of public trust in them, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has unveiled a 15-point reform charter. Choose correct proposals under it:

1. Doing Away with anti-defection law
2. Review of the whip system
3. Both pre and post Legislative Impact Assessment

 Choose correct

(A) 1 & 2
(B) 3 only
 (C) 2 & 3
(D) All

• Both pre and post Legislative Impact Assessment to be ensured for quality and informed law making for creating wider awareness about the targeted outcomes by bringing out social, economic, environmental and administrative impacts besides the involvement of all stakeholders in law making;
• Ensuring effective functioning of the Department Related Standing Committees of Parliament through longer tenures instead of reconstitution every year as at present besides promoting specialisation by nomination on the committees based on academic backgrounds and their renomination on the same committees for longer period. I would like to discuss this issue with the Speaker, Lok Sabha for further action;
• Taking forward the legislation in the Parliament for reservation of women in legislatures whose representation is at present only about 13%;
• A minimum number of sittings for both the Parliament and State Legislatures per year to be appropriately prescribed and compliance ensured;
• Lawmakers should abide by the Rules of the House and political parties to take responsibility in this regard by evolving and enforcing a code of conduct;
• Making rules that automatically take effect against erring Members in case of interruptions and disruptions;
• Political parties to evolve a roster system for ensuring attendance of at least 50% of their members in the legislatures all through the proceedings of the House everyday to address the issue of lack of quorum;

• Secretariats of legislatures to publish regular reports on the attendance of members inside during the proceedings and the extent of their participation in the form of questions raised, debates participated in etc.;
• Legislature parties to ensure that the new entrants and back benchers are given adequate opportunities to participate in the debates instead of fielding only a select and established few;
• To evolve a new political consciousness under which tickets to contest elections will not be given merely on the criteria of winnability by political parties to address the problem of rising number of legislators with criminal backgrounds;
• To review the functioning of the Anti-Defection Law to address grey areas like incentivizing members to resort to activities that invite expulsion from the parties besides stipulating specific time frame for deciding on defection matters by the Presiding Officers of Legislatures;
• To review the functioning of ‘Whip System‘ which is being alleged to be stifling even reasonable dissent from the party position even on non-consequential matters and rationalize the norms for issuing Whip to enable some degree of freedom of expression without adversely affecting stability of the Government;
• Setting up special courts/tribunals for time bound adjudication on criminal complaints against legislators and election-related matters;
• Timely and effective action against legislators for non-ethical conduct; and
• Governments to be responsive to the views and concerns of the Opposition and the Opposition to be responsible and constructive while resorting to the available parliamentary instruments like Adjournment Motions and during participation in the debates and both sides to avoid cynical and adversarial position just for the sake of it.
• Consensus to be built on the proposal for simultaneous elections so that governance is not adversely impacted on account of staggered and continuous polls across the country and also to address the problem of rising money power in elections.

MCQ 4

Under the Companies Act, businesses can invest their profits in areas such as promoting rural development in terms of healthcare, sanitation, education including skill development, environmental sustainability, etc.Section 135(1) of the Act prescribes thresholds to identify companies which are required to constitute a CSR Committee – those, in the immediately preceding financial year of which:

1. net worth is Rs 5000 Crore or more
2. turnover is Rs 1000 Crore or more
3. net profit amounts to Rs 50 Crore or more
4. None

• President of India Presents National Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.
•  The NCSRA has been instituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to recognize outstanding contribution in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? It is the integration of socially beneficial programs and practices into a corporation’s business model and culture.

How is it regulated in India?

•  India is one of the first countries in the world to make CSR mandatory for companies following an amendment to the Companies Act, 2013 (Companies Act) in 2014.
• Under the Companies Act, businesses can invest their profits in areas such as promoting rural development in terms of healthcare, sanitation, education including skill development, environmental sustainability, etc.
• Section 135(1) of the Act prescribes thresholds to identify companies which are required to constitute a CSR Committee – those, in the immediately preceding financial year of which:
• net worth is Rs 500 Crore or more; or.
• turnover is Rs 1000 Crore or more; or.
• net profit amounts to Rs 5 Crore or more.
• As per the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019, CSR is applicable to companies before completion of 3 financial years

 Amount to be spent:

• Companies are required to spend, in every financial year, at least 2% of their average net profits generated during the 3 immediately preceding financial years.
• For companies that have not completed 3 financial years, average net profits generated in the preceding financial years shall be factored in.

 Treatment of unspent amounts:

• Amounts to be utilized towards a CSR activity, but unspent must be parked in a special account as prescribed under the provision within 30 days of the end of the relevant financial year.
• The unspent amount must be utilised by the company for the particular CSR activity within a period of 3 financial years from the date of such transfer, failing which, it must be transferred to any fund provided for in schedule VII of the Companies Act namely inter alia the Clean Ganga Fund, Swachh Baharat Kosh, Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
• Any unspent amount which does not relate to an ongoing CSR activity must be transferred to a fund provided for in Schedule VII within a span of 6 months of the end of the relevant financial year.

Fines and Imprisonment:

•  Provision for penalty in the form of fine on the company and officers in default, between Rs 50,000 – Rs 25,00,000, has been inserted in case of failure in compliance with Section 135. Additionally, every officer in default may also be imprisoned for a term of up to 3 years.
• Social responsibility has a strategic importance for two reasons:
• A healthy business can only succeed in a healthy society. Thus, it is in the best interest of a company to produce only goods and services which strengthen the health of society
• If the company wants to succeed in the long term it needs to have the acceptance—or licence to operate—from social actors affected by the company’s’ operations.

MCQ 5

1. National Digital Health Blueprint report is regarding the indian genome project
2. It lays out the ‘building blocks’ for the implementation of the National Health Stack (NHS)

 Choose correct

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

National Digital Health Blueprint report submitted to Health Ministry.

Background:

• In August this year, the government released NDHB which aims to create National Digital Health Eco- System.

Highlights of the National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB):

• It lays out the ‘building blocks’ for the implementation of the National Health Stack (NHS), which aims to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) in leveraging health records.
• Keeping true to the government’s larger agenda, of ‘data as a public good’, the blueprint proposes the linking of multiple databases to generate greater and granular data that can be leveraged by the public as well as private sector – including insurance companies, hospitals, apps and researchers.
• The blueprint proposes a National Digital Health Mission “as a purely government organization with complete functional autonomy adopting some features of some of the existing National Information Utilities like UIDAI and GSTN.”

 Concerns:

• This National Blueprint illustrates yet another example of the Centre moving forward with a major digitization program involving the data of millions of citizens without a data protection law in place.
• Data security is a prerequisite for any data movement. Currently, data privacy in health is a grey area.
• Data researchers and activists have expressed concerns about the development of this policy, which proposes a health data set-up on a foundation of India Stack – a bouquet of privately-owned proprietary software applications.

MCQ 6

1. Researchers from IIT Bombay have discovered special properties in a class of materials called “semi-Dirac metals”
2. such materials would be transparent to light of a given frequency and polarization from all directions

Choose correct

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

MCQ 7

1. Edge computing is a subtype of cloud computing
2. An edge computing network reduces the amount of data that travels over the network

Choose correct

(A) Only 1
 (B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

• According to a research, By 2025, companies will generate and process more than 75% of their data outside of traditional centralised data centres — that is, at the “edge” of the cloud.
• As the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices expands and the need to process IoT data quickly increases, many IT leaders are considering or beginning to employ edge computing options.

What is edge computing?

• Edge computing enables data to be analysed, processed, and transferred at the edge of a network. Meaning , the data is analysed locally, closer to where it is stored, in real-time without latency, rather than send it far away to a centralised data centre.
• It allows for quicker data processing and content delivery.

 How is edge computing different from cloud computing?

• The basic difference between edge computing and cloud computing lies in where the data processing takes place.
• Internet of Things (IoT) systems perform all of their computations in the cloud using data centres.
• In Edge computing, massive amounts of data generated by IoT devices are stored and processed locally. That data doesn’t need to be sent over a network as soon as it processed; only important data is sent — therefore, an edge computing network reduces the amount of data that travels over the network.

Challenges:

• According to experts, edge computing introduces several new security risks.
• One of the most prominent concerns is the physical security of the devices, which are more vulnerable to malicious attacks and mishaps of all kinds than typical office equipment and technology safely held within corporate walls.
• Micro data centers, such as those being deployed by telecommunication companies — in some cases, at the base of cell towers — introduce a level of physical vulnerability that didn’t exist with corporate data centers and large cloud providers.
• Meanwhile, many organizations will be challenged to understand, track and monitor what data they have and where, what protections are required at the various points based on the data and vulnerabilities specific to each endpoint and how to govern what could soon be a sprawling infrastructure at many companies.

 Benefits:

• Edge computing may offer some protection against a catastrophic attack where a single incident can compromise large amounts of a company’s data.
• In some ways, it’s more resilient, because instead of one or two or even three data centers, you have distributed data and compute on the edge, which makes it much more resilient to malicious and nonmalicious events.
•  Experts believe the true potential of edge computing will become apparent when 5G networks go mainstream in a year from now. Users will be able to enjoy consistent connectivity without even realizing it.

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