Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC 2020 / IAS / 08-12-19 | Free PDF

MCQ 1

1. The Eighth Edition of India China joint training exercise ‘Hand-inHand-2019’ commenced in China recently
2. Counter – terrorism operations & HADR operations are the core issues in it.

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

•  Ministry of Defence Opening Ceremony joint Exercise Hand-In-Hand-2019 The Eighth Edition of India China joint training exercise ‘Hand-inHand-2019’ commenced at Joint Training Node, Umroi, Meghalaya on 07 December 2019. The People’s Liberations Army (PLA) contingent from the Tibet Military Command& Indian Army contingent comprising of one Infantry company along with supporting staff are participating in the 14 days long joint training exercise. The exercise aims to enrich both the contingents from each other’s experience in counter – terrorism operations. Besides counter-terrorism operations, discussions on Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) operations will also be conducted as part of the exercise. The exercise will send a strong signal to the world that both India and China well understand the emerging threat of terrorism and stand shoulder to shoulder in countering this menace plaguing the world.

MCQ 2

1. APEDA & TRIFED both are established by respective acts
2. Both bodies are Cooperative Marketing Development Federations

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

Ministry of Tribal Affairs

•  TRIFED Celebrates 100 days of Prime Minister Van Dhan Yojana and Forges Association with Global Fashion Designer Ritu Beri TRIFED Sanctions 676 VDVKs in 18 States Covering 2,00,740 Beneficiaries for a Sanctioned Amount of Rs. 99.81 Crores
•  Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFEF updated the media on the completion of ‘100 days of Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana (PMVDY)’, a national programme driven by
• TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, aimed at empowering tribals all over the country to make them entrepreneurs. Addressing at an event to celebrate ‘100 days of PMVDY’ and on forging an association of Tribes India with Global Designer Ritu Beri organized by TRIFED here today, he said that PMVDY is a Market Linked Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Program for forming clusters of tribal Self Help Groups and strengthening them into Tribal Producer Companies. It has been launched with participation from 27 States of the Country.
•  During the short period after initiation of sanctioning the Van Dhan program on 27 Aug 2019, proposals for establishing 799 VDVKs from 24 States have been received and TRIFED has sanctioned 676 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) in 18 States covering 2,00,740 beneficiaries for a sanctioned amount of Rs. 99.81 Cr.

APEDA

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act, 1985.
• It functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Authority has its headquarters in New Delhi.

Functions

• APEDA is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the scheduled products viz. fruits, vegetables and their products; meat and meat products; poultry and poultry products; dairy products; confectionery, biscuits and bakery products; honey, jaggery and sugar products; cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds; alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages; cereal and cereal products; groundnuts, peanuts and walnuts, pickles, papads and chutneys; guar gum; floriculture and floriculture products; herbal and medicinal plants.
• APEDA has been entrusted with the responsibility to monitor import of sugar.
• It looks after the development of industries relating to the scheduled products for export by way of providing financial assistance or otherwise for undertaking surveys and feasibility studies, participating through subsidy schemes.
• Registration of persons as exporters of the scheduled products and fixing of standards and specifications for the scheduled products for the purpose of exports.
• Carrying out inspection of meat and meat products in slaughterhouses, processing plants, storage premises and improving packaging of the scheduled products.

TRIFED

• The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) came into existence in 1987.
• It is a national-level apex organization functioning under the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• TRIFED has its Head Office located in New Delhi and has a network of 13 Regional Offices located at various places in the country.
• Objectives
• The ultimate objective of TRIFED is socio-economic development of tribal people in the country by way of marketing development of the tribal products such as metal craft, tribal textiles, pottery, tribal paintings and pottery on which the tribals depends heavily for major portion of their income.
• TRIFED acts as a facilitator and service provider for tribes to sell their product.
• The approach by TRIFED aims to empower tribal people with knowledge, tools and pool of information so that they can undertake their operations in a more systematic and scientific manner. • It also involves capacity building of the tribal people through sensitization, formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs) and imparting training to them for undertaking a particular activity.

Functions

• It mainly undertakes two functions viz.

1. Minor Forest Produce (MFP) development and
2. Retail Marketing and Development.

1. Minor Forest Produce (MFP) development

• An important source of livelihood for tribal people are non-wood forest products, generally termed ‘Minor Forest Produce (MFP)’. This includes all non-timber forest produce of plant origin and include bamboo, canes, fodder, leaves, gums, waxes, dyes, resins and many forms of food including nuts, wild fruits, honey, lac, tusser etc.
• The Minor Forest Produces provide both subsistence and cash income for people who live in or near forests. They form a major portion of their food, fruits, medicines and other consumption items and also provide cash income through sales.
• MFP has significant economic and social value for the forest dwellers as an estimated 100 Million people derive their source of livelihood from the collection and marketing of Minor Forest Produce (Report of the National Committee on Forest Rights Act, 2011).
• Around 100 million forest dwellers depend on Minor Forest Produces for food, shelter, medicines and cash income. Tribals derive 20-40% of their annual income from Minor Forest Produce on which they spend major portion of their time.
• MFP also has strong linkage to women’s financial empowerment as most of the Minor Forest Produces are collected and used/sold by women.
• The people who depend on MFP are generally beset with a number of other problems such as perishable nature of the produce, lack of holding capacity, lack of marketing infrastructure, exploitation by middlemen, etc. Due to this, the MFP gatherers who are mostly poor are unable to bargain for fair prices.
• To cope with the above problem, Govt. of India has decided to introduce the scheme of “Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and development of value chain”.
• The scheme is designed as a social safety net for improvement of livelihood of MFP gatherers by providing them a fair price for the MFPs they collect.

2.Retail Marketing and Development

• It involves exploring marketing possibilities for marketing of tribal products on a sustainable basis, creating brand and providing other necessary services.
• identifies and source tribal products for marketing through its retail marketing network of TRIBES INDIA outlets.
• It has been undertaking sourcing of various handicraft, handloom and natural & food products through its empaneled suppliers across the country.
• The suppliers comprise of individual tribal artisans, tribal SHGs, Organisations/ Agencies/NGOs working with tribals. The suppliers are empaneled with TRIFED as per the guidelines for empanelment of suppliers.
• TRIFED has been marketing tribal products through its Retail Outlets located across the country and also through exhibitions. It has established a chain of 35 own showrooms and 8 consignment showrooms in association with State level Organisations promoting tribal handicrafts.

MCQ 3

1. Every Year India dedicates December 7 to the Indian military Flag Day
2. The main purpose of the observation is rehabilitation of battle casualties, resettlement and welfare of ex-servicemen and their families and welfare of serving personnel and their families

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

• Every Year India dedicates December 7 to the Armed Forces Flag Day. The day is dedicated towards fund collection from people of India for the welfare of Indian Armed Forces. The day is being observed annually since 1949. Significance
• The main purpose of the observation is rehabilitation of battle casualties, resettlement and welfare of exservicemen and their families and welfare of serving personnel and their families. The day commemorates fund collection through distribution of flags. It also acknowledges those who died in serving the country.
• Highlights
• On the Flag day, all the three forces of the India arrange carnivals, shows and dramas to show the public about their efforts to ensure national security. On the flag day, car flags, small flags in deep blue, red and light blue colors representing the three services are distributed in return for donations.
• History
• As India gained independence a need arose to manage the welfare of the defense personnel. In 1949, a committee was set up to observe Flag Day annually on December 7. The day gains its importance as it considers that it is the responsibility of every citizen to take care of the families and dependents of armed forces personnel.

MCQ 4

1. The UNFCCC’s COP25 (25th Conference of Parties) was held in Chile recently
2. Nairobi Work Programme was also launched in the COP

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

• The Minister of Environment Shri Prakash Javadekar represented India at the Madrid Climate Conference.
• The United Nations Climate Change Conference is being held in Madrid between 2nd December, 2019 and 13th December 2019.
• The COP25 (25th Conference of Parties) was to be held in Chile.
• However, Chile government cancelled COP25 due to the protests that are plaguing the country. Following its cancellation, Spain offered to organize the event. Highlights
• The Conference insisted the member countries to enhance their NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) in the coming 12 months till COP26. A yearbook was launched that called on the governments to strengthen the UNFCCC agenda post 2020. It also insisted to create actions for a climate resilient world between 2020 and 2050.

Report on Oceans

• The conference also released report on oceans titled “Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate” (SPROCC).
• The Nairobi work programme (NWP) is a mechanism under the Convention to facilitate and catalyze the development, dissemination, and use of knowledge that would inform and support adaptation policies and practices.
• The programme was established at COP11 (2005)
• named the “Nairobi work programme on impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation to climate change” at COP12 in Nairobi (2006).
• The NWP operates under the overall guidance of the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), with assistance from the secretariat, and contributions from Parties and other relevant stakeholders.
• The NWP provides knowledge support to the Parties and Constituted Bodies to advance adaptation action through knowledge.

This is done by:

1. Engaging a growing network of non-Party stakeholders in sharing their experience and expertise;
2. Capturing and synthesizing the latest information and knowledge on key adaptation issues;
3. Enhancing the science-policy-practice interface to close identified knowledge gaps;
4. Disseminating knowledge and fostering learning to boost adaptation activity by all stakeholders.

• The Global Climate Risk Index 2020 was published at the conference

MCQ 5

1. India’s online market is second only to USA.
2. Justice B N Srikrishna prepared the draft of Personal Data Protection Bill

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

• Cleared by the Cabinet, the Personal Data Protection Bill is due to be placed in Parliament.
• A draft version was prepared by a committee headed by retired Justice B N Srikrishna.

How does the bill seek to regulate data?

• The bill constitutes 3 personal information types:

1. Critical
2. Sensitive
3. General

•  Sensitive data constitutes or is related to passwords, financial data, health data, official identifier, sexual orientation, religious or caste data, biometric data and genetic data. It may be processed outside India with the explicit consent of the user. Critical data will be characterised by the government every once in a while, and must be stored and handled only in India. General data: Any data that is non-critical and non-sensitive is categorised as general data with no limitation on where it is stored or managed.
• Exemptions: The government is qualified to order any data fiduciary to acquire personal and non-personal/anonymized data for the sake of research and for national security and criminal investigations.
• Social media companies, which are deemed significant data fiduciaries based on factors such as volume and sensitivity of data as well as their turnover, should develop their own user verification mechanism.
• An independent regulator Data Protection Agency (DPA) will oversee assessments and audits and definition making.
• Each company will have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who will liaison with the DPA for auditing, grievance redressal, recording maintenance and more.
• The bill also grants individuals the right to data portability, and the ability to access and transfer one’s own data.
• The right to be forgotten: this right allows an individual to remove consent for data collection and disclosure.

Why does data protection matter?

• With a population of over a billion, there are about 500 million active web users and India’s online market is second only to China.
• Large collection of information about individuals and their online habits has become an important source of profits.
• It is also a potential avenue for invasion of privacy because it can reveal extremely personal aspects.
• Companies, governments, and political parties find it valuable because they can use it to find the most convincing ways to advertise to you online.
• Besides, presently, there are no laws on the utilization of individual information and forestalling its abuse, even though the Supreme Court maintained the right to privacy as a fundamental right back directly in 2017. Why there are Concerns over the bill?
• The bill is like a two-sided sword.
• While it protects the personal data of Indians by empowering them with data principal rights, on the other hand, it gives the central government with exemptions which are against the principles of processing personal data.
• The government can process even sensitive personal data when needed, without explicit permission from the data principals.

MCQ 6

1. 10th Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG) Meeting was held recently at Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia.
2. AsESG is an integral part of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) 10th Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG) Meeting was held recently at Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia.
• More than 130 elephant conservationists, partner organizations and experts gathered at the meeting.
• Issues discussed included national action plans for elephant conservation by Asian elephant range states, best practices in managing human-elephant conflict, mechanisms to involve group members in monitoring the illegal killing of elephants, issues related to captive elephant welfare and sharing and learning from the African experience.
• About AsESG: The IUCN Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG) is a global network of specialists (both scientists and non-scientists) concerned with the study, monitoring, management, and conservation of Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus). Aim: To promote the long-term conservation of Asia’s elephants and, where possible, the recovery of their populations to viable levels. AsESG is an integral part of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Functions:
• It shall provide the best available scientifically grounded evidence to the abundance, distribution, and demographic status of Asian elephant populations in all 13 range states.
• Gajah is the bi-annual journal of the IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG).

MCQ 7

1. The Telangana government has decided to merge its flagship scheme- Kalia with the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) yojana
2. Both schemes cover small farmers, cultivators and landless agricultural labourers

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

• The Odisha government has decided to merge its flagship schemeKalia with the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKisan) yojana, apparently due to financial constraint.
• Key features of Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation or KALIA Scheme:
• Involves payments to encourage cultivation and associated activities.
• Primary targets are small farmers, cultivators and landless agricultural labourers.
• All farmers will be provided Rs 10,000 per family as assistance for cultivation.
• Each family will get Rs 5,000 separately in the kharif and rabi seasons, for five cropping seasons between 2018-19 and 2021-22.
• Targets 10 lakh landless households, and specifically SC and ST families. They will be supported with a unit cost of Rs 12,500 for activities like goat rearing, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping, poultry farming and fishery.
• Exception: A critical trade, dairy production, has deliberately been kept out because keeping a cow is more expensive, while milk production needs to have a collection route or agency that processes and refines this low shelf-life product.
• It will assist the elderly, sick and differently-abled population who are unable to take up cultivation, by providing Rs 10,000 per household per year.
• The scheme includes a life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh and additional personal accident coverage of the same amount for 57 lakh households.
• Crop loans up to Rs 50,000 are interest-free.
• This is also going to be an area-specific scheme in the sense that an input support for a particular trade, say mushroom cultivation, will be provided if it is prevalent throughout that locality so that there is aggregation of produce.

 Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi:

• It is a Central Sector Scheme.
• Under this programme, landholding farmer families, having cultivable land up to 2 hectares, will be provided direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year.
• This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three equal installments of Rs. 2,000 each.

MCQ 8
HOG and EOG technologies are related to

1. Missile guidance
2. Rocket launching
3. 3D printing
4. Locomotive Electricity generation

• Between April 2018 and November 2019 around 436 trains have been converted into HOG compliant.
• What is Head on Generation (HOG) technology? The system runs the train’s ‘hotel load’ (the load of air conditioning, lights, fans, and pantry, etc.) by drawing electricity from the overhead electric lines through the pantograph. The power supply from the overhead cable is 750 volts at singlephase, and a transformer with a winding of 945 kVA converts it to a 750 Volts 50 Hz output at 3-phase. This energy is then provided to the compartments.

How is it different from the present EOG technology?

• In the End on Generation (EOG) system, the ‘hotel load’ is provided with electricity from two large diesel generator sets.
• The generator cars are attached to either end of the train, giving the system its name.

Benefits of HOG over EOG:

• HOG-fitted trains do not require power from diesel generators and need only one emergency generator car attached, instead of two regular generator cars.
• HOG system is free of air and noise pollution: It would bring down yearly CO2 and NOx emissions, which are currently at 1724.6 tonnes/annum and 7.48 tonnes/annum respectively, to zero.
• The reduction in emissions could also help the Railways accrue carbon credits, and trade them on the international market.
• With the noise-emitting generator sets gone, noise pollution would also drop.

MCQ 9

1. Neutrinos are the second most widely occurring particle in the universe, only second to photons
2. The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) Project is a multiinstitutional effort aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory in Theni Hills, Kerala

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

• The Centre has reiterated that the Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO) will be established in Theni in south Tamil Nadu though there has been opposition to the project by locals.
• The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) Project is a multiinstitutional effort aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory with a rock cover of approx.1200 m for non-accelerator based high energy and nuclear physics research in India. The initial goal of INO is to study neutrinos.
• It is a mega-science project jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

 Project includes:

• Construction of an underground laboratory and associated surface facilities at Pottipuram in Bodi West hills of Theni District of Tamil Nadu.
• Construction of an Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector for studying neutrinos.
• Setting up of National Centre for High Energy Physics at Madurai, for the operation and maintenance of the underground laboratory, human resource development and detector R&D along with its applications.
• What are neutrinos?
• Neutrinos, first proposed by Swiss scientist Wolfgang Pauli in 1930, are the second most widely occurring particle in the universe, only second to photons, the particle which makes up light.
• In fact, neutrinos are so abundant among us that every second, there are more than 100 trillion of them passing right through each of us — we never even notice them.
• Neutrinos occur in three different types, or flavours. These are separated in terms of different masses. From experiments so far, we know that neutrinos have a tiny mass, but the ordering of the neutrino mass states is not known and is one of the key questions that remain unanswered till today. This is a major challenge INO will set to resolve, thus completing our picture of the neutrino.
• Neutrinos hold the key to several important and fundamental questions on the origin of the Universe and the energy production in stars.
• Another important possible application of neutrinos is in the area of neutrino tomograph of the earth, that is detailed investigation of the structure of the Earth from core on wards. This is possible with neutrinos since they are the only particles which can probe the deep interiors of the Earth.

 Why should the laboratory be situated underground?

• Neutrinos are notoriously difficult to detect in a laboratory because of their extremely weak interaction with matter.
• The background from cosmic rays (which interact much more readily than neutrinos) and natural radioactivity will make it almost impossible to detect them on the surface of the Earth. This is the reason most neutrino observatories are located deep inside the Earth’s surface.
• The overburden provided by the Earth matter is transparent to neutrinos whereas most background from cosmic rays is substantially reduced depending on the depth at which the detector is located.

MCQ 10

1. The Forward Bloc of the Indian National Congress was formed on May 3, 1939 by Jai Prakash Narayan
2. The All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) is a left-wing nationalist political party in India today

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

• The All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) is a left-wing nationalist political party in India
• It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. • The party re-established as an independent political party after the independence of India.
• It has its main stronghold in West Bengal. The party’s current Secretary-General is Debabrata Biswas.
• Veteran Indian politicians Sarat Chandra Bose (brother of Subhas Chandra Bose) and Chitta Basu had been the stalwarts of the party in independent India.
• The Forward Bloc of the Indian National Congress was formed on May 3, 1939 by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who had resigned from the presidency of the Indian National Congress on 29 April after being outmaneuvered by Gandhi.
• The formation of the Forward Bloc was announced to the public at a rally in Calcutta. Bose said that who all were joining, they had to never turn their back to the British and must fill the pledge form by cutting their finger and signing it with their blood.
• Initially the aim of the Forward Bloc was to rally all the leftwing sections within the Congress and develop an alternative leadership inside the Congress.
• In August, the same year Bose began publishing a newspaper titled Forward Bloc. He travelled around the country, rallying support for his new political project

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