Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC 2020 / IAS / 28-12-19 | Free PDF

 
MCQ 1

1. Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession of J&K according  to the conditions established in article 370
2. As per the cabinet mission plan, British India was divided into India and  Pakistan and the roughly 580 princely states that had signed subsidiary  alliances with the British had their sovereignty restored to them.

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• From 2020, people in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will have a public holiday on October 26  for the first time.
• The day, which will be observed as Accession Day, marks the signing of the Instrument of Accession by the last Dogra ruler of J&K, Maharaja Hari Singh, with the then Governor-General of India,  Lord Mountbatten.

October 26?

• As per the Indian Independence Act, 1947, British India was divided into India and Pakistan and the roughly 580 princely states that had  signed subsidiary alliances with the British had their sovereignty  restored to them. In essence, these princely states were given the  option to remain independent or to join the Dominion of India or 
• According to Section 6(a) of the Act, before joining India or Pakistan, these states had to sign an Instrument of Accession, in which they  would specify the terms on which they were becoming part of the  new dominions.
• What is Instrument of Accession of J&K?
• It is a legal document executed by Maharaja Hari Singh, the then ruler of the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir, on October 26, 1947.
• It declared that the state of Jammu and Kashmir accedes to India.
• The IoA gave India’s Parliament the power to legislate in respect of J&K only on the matters of defence, external affairs and 
• Apart from defence, communications and external affairs, the IoA mentions ancillary subjects that include elections to the dominion  legislature and offences against laws with respect to any of the said 
• Using IoA, Article 370 was incorporated in the Constitution of India.

MCQ 2

1. Most committees are ‘standing’ and they are formed for a specific  purpose. Once the Bill is disposed of, that committee ceases to  exist.
2. Parliamentary committees draw their authority from Article 105  and Article 118

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1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has referred the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second  Amendment) Bill, which seeks to streamline the  corporate insolvency resolution process, to the  standing committee on Finance of which former  prime minister Manmohan Singh is a member.

What are the types of committees?

• Most committees are ‘standing’ as their existence is uninterrupted and usually reconstituted on an annual basis;
• some are ‘select’ committees formed for a specific purpose, for instance, to deliberate on a particular bill. Once the Bill is disposed of,  that select committee ceases to exist.
• Some standing committees are departmentally related.
• Financial control is a critical tool for Parliament’s authority over the executive; hence finance committees are considered to be  particularly powerful.
• The three financial committees are the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings.
• Powers:
• Parliamentary committees draw their authority from Article 105 (on privileges of Parliament members) and Article 118 (on Parliament’s  authority to make rules for regulating its procedure and conduct of  business).
• Significance:
• Committee reports are usually exhaustive and provide authentic information on matters related to governance. Bills that are referred  to committees are returned to the House with significant value  Parliament is not bound by the recommendations of  committees.

1. Parliament is the embodiment of the people’s will. Committees are an instrument of Parliament for its own effective functioning.
2. Committees are platforms for threadbare discussion on a proposed law.
3. The smaller cohort of lawmakers, assembled on the basis of the proportional strength of individual parties and interests and expertise of individual  lawmakers, could have more open, intensive and better-informed discussions.
4. Committee meetings are ‘closed door’ and members are not bound by party whips, which allows them the latitude for a more meaningful exchange of  views as against discussions in full and open Houses where grandstanding and  party positions invariably take precedence.
5. Members of Parliament may have great acumen but they would require the assistance of experts in dealing with such situations. It is through committees  that such expertise is drawn into lawmaking.
6. Executive accountability to the legislature is enforced through questions in Parliament also, which are answered by ministers. However, department  standing committees go one step further and hear from senior officials of the  government in a closed setting, allowing for more detailed discussions.
7. This mechanism also enables parliamentarians to understand the executive processes closely.

MCQ 3

1. The Merchant Discount Rate is the percentage of the digital  transaction that a consumer pays to the merchant
2. All shops, business establishments and companies have been  mandated to offer Rupay & BHIM UPI modes of payments to  customers.

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• Digital transactions made using RuPay credit cards or UPI QR codes will not attract additional charges for merchants or customers from the beginning  of next year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. All  shops, business establishments and companies with an annual turnover of ₹50 crore or more have been mandated to offer these modes of payment to customers.
• The Department of Revenue will soon notify RuPay and UPI as the prescribed mode of payment for digital transactions without any Merchant  Discount Rate (MDR), Ms. Sitharaman said after a meeting with public  sector bankers, adding that the notification would come into effect from  January 1, 2020.
• The Merchant Discount Rate is the percentage of the digital transaction that a merchant pays to banks. This cost is often passed on to the  The decision to choose RuPay and UPI as the platforms which  will not attract this levy, may promote these home-grown digital payment  pathways over those promoted by foreign companies, including VISA and  MasterCard.
• In her budget speech in July, the Finance Minister had listed “BHIM UPI, UPI-QR Code, Aadhaar Pay, certain Debit cards, NEFT, RTGS, etc.” as the  low-cost digital modes of payment which could be offered without the imposition of MDR in order to promote a “less cash” economy.
• She had added that “RBI and banks will absorb these costs from the savings that will accrue to them on account of handling less cash as people move  to these digital modes of payment.”
• At that time, the Payments Council of India — an industry lobby group — had said an MDR waiver would hurt companies in the payments system.
• It argued that the cost should be borne by the government instead of banks, which would have no incentive to promote digital payments without  MDR revenues.
• On Saturday, Ms. Sitharaman said all banks would start a campaign to promote RuPay debit cards and UPI. The government has already amended  two laws — the Income Tax Act and the Payments and Settlement Systems  Act — in order to implement the budget announcement, she added.

MCQ 4

1. Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of RBI
2. DICGC insures all bank time deposits for up to the limit of Rs. 100,000 of each deposits in a bank.

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India. It was established on 15 July 1978 under the  Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act,  1961 for the purpose of providing insurance of deposits and  guaranteeing of credit facilities.
• DICGC insures all bank deposits, such as saving, fixed, current, recurring deposit for up to the limit of Rs. 100,000  of each deposits in a bank.
• A maximum of ₹1,00,000 is insured for each user for both principal and interest amount.
• If the customer has accounts in different banks, all of those accounts are insured to a maximum of ₹1,00,000.
• However, if there are more accounts in same bank, all of those are treated as a single account.
• The insurance premium is paid by the insured banks itself. This means that the benefit of deposit insurance protection is made available to  the depositors or customers of banks free of cost.
• The Corporation has the power to cancel the registration of an insured bank if it fails to pay the premium for three consecutive half-year  The Corporation may restore the registration of the bank if the  bank makes a request and pays all the amounts due by way of  premium from the date of default together with interest.

FinMin, IRDAI seek insurance for bank deposits above Rs 1 lakh.

• The requests comes in the aftermath of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank scam.

What is deposit insurance? How is it regulated in India?

• Deposit insurance is providing insurance protection to the depositor’s money by receiving a premium.
• The government has set up Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) under RBI to protect depositors if a bank fails.
• Every insured bank pays premium amounting to 0.001% of its deposits to DICGC every year.
• What happens to depositors’ money when a bank fails?
• When a bank is liquidated, depositors are entitled to receive an insurance amount of ₹1 lakh per individual from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (DICGC).
• The ₹1 lakh insurance limit includes both principal and interest dues across your savings bank accounts, current  accounts, fixed deposits and recurring deposits held with the

What is the procedure for depositors to claim the money from a failed bank?

• The DICGC does not deal directly with depositors.
• The RBI (or the Registrar), on directing that a bank be liquidated, appoints an official liquidator to oversee the winding up process.
• Under the DICGC Act, the liquidator is supposed to hand over a list of all the insured depositors (with their dues) to the DICGC within three months of taking
• The DICGC is supposed to pay these dues within two months of receiving this list.

Who are insured by the DICGC?

• The corporation covers all commercial and co-operative banks, except in Meghalaya, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Dadra and Nagar Besides, Only primary cooperative societies are not insured by the  DICGC.
• The DICGC does not include the following types of deposits:
• Deposits of foreign governments.
• Deposits of central/state governments.
• Inter-bank deposits.
• Deposits of the state land development banks with the state co-operative bank.
• Any amount due on account of any deposit received outside
• Any amount specifically exempted by the DICGC with previous approval of RBI.

MCQ 5

1. Budapest convention is Also known as the Convention on Cybercrime
2. India recently ratified the convention

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• The United Nations has approved a Russian-led bid that aims to create a new convention on cybercrime, alarming rights groups and  Western powers that fear a bid to restrict online freedom.
• The General Assembly approved the resolution sponsored by Russia and backed by China, which would set up a committee of  international experts in 2020.

Why the US is worried about this?

• A new UN treaty on cybercrime could render the Budapest Convention obsolete, further alarming  rights groups.
• The Budapest Convention was drafted by the Council of Europe, but other countries have joined, including  the United States and Japan.
• Russia has opposed the Budapest Convention, arguing that giving investigators access to computer data across  borders violates national sovereignty.

What is Budapest convention?

• Also known as the Convention on Cybercrime, it is the first  international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer  crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative  techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations.
• It was drawn up by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg,  France, with the active participation of the Council of Europe’s  observer states Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United  States.
• It is open for ratification even to states that are not members of  the Council of Europe.
• As of September 2019, 64 states have ratified the convention.
• The Budapest Convention provides for the criminalization of conduct,  ranging from illegal access, data and systems interference to computer-  related fraud and child pornography, procedural law tools to make  investigation of cybercrime and securing of e-evidence in relation to  any crime more effective, and international police and judicial  cooperation on cybercrime and e-evidence.

India’s concerns over signing of this agreement:

• India did not participate in the negotiation of the Convention and thus is worried about it.
• The Convention — through its Article 32b — allows for transborder access to data and thus infringes on national sovereignty.
• The regime of the Convention is not effective, “the promise of cooperation not firm enough,” or that there are grounds for refusal to

MCQ 6
According to the latest ISFR 2019,

1. The forest cover constituted 25.56% of India’s geographical area
2. Manipur tops the country in growing the maximum amount of forest in the last two years.

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• The forest cover in the country increased by 3,976 square kilometres (sqkm) but with the sharpest declines in the northeastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram, according to the 2019 edition of the India State Forest Report (ISFR) that was made public on Monday.
• At 7,12,249 sqkm, the forest cover constituted 21.67% of the nation’s geographical area or 0.12% more than last
• The ISFR, a biennial exercise, assesses the forest and tree cover, bamboo resources, carbon stock and forest fires.
• The top three States showing an increase in forest cover are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
• Tree cover, defined as patches of trees less than 1 hectare and occurring outside the recorded forest area, grew by 1,212 sqkm. Tree and forest cover together made up 25.56% of India’s area. In the last assessment it was 24.39%.
• Not a concern now’
• Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the declines in the Northeast weren’t “yet a matter of concern.” The States had a much higher proportion of  forest than most States — Mizoram (85.4%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.63%) and  Nagaland (75%) — and the declines in forest were still small. The Centre had  policies in place to address this over the long term.
• He explained the decline in tree cover inside forests as due to tribal populations getting “land titles” (patta ) and the rise in trees outside the forest area as due to an increase in tree plantation and afforestation
• The report, however, shows that the quality of this forest — in terms of the canopy density of the trees comprising forest patches — is wavering. While 1,755 sqkm of ‘moderately dense forest’ (MDF) became ‘Very dense forest (VDF), 2,782 sqkm of MDF regressed into lower quality ‘open forest (OF),’ Scrub forest’ or ‘Non forest.’
• The forest cover within the Recorded Forest Area, or that which has been officially
• classified by States or the Centre as ‘forest,’ showed a 330 sqkm decrease, but ‘forest’  outside such recorded area increased by  4,306 sqkm.
• Tree outside forest was found to comprise nearly 29.38 million hectares, which was  4% of the total tree and forest cover in the  country. Maharashtra had the largest extent  of such tree outside forest.
• The nation’s tree and forest cover has largely hovered from 21-25% and is short of  the National Forest Policy, 1988, which  envisages 33% to be under such cover.

MCQ 7
Drake Passage connects

1. Sumatra to Malaysia
2. Little Andaman to South Andaman
3. Black sea to Sea of marmara
4. NOTA

• It is the body of water between South America’s Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica.
• It connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean (Scotia Sea) with the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and extends into the  Southern Ocean.
• It is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to any other landmass. There is no significant land anywhere around the world at the latitudes of Drake Passage, which is important to the unimpeded  flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current which carries a huge  volume of water through the Passage and around Antarctica.
• The passage is named after Sir Francis Drake, who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe.

MCQ 8

1. Avangard (hypersonic glide vehicle) was recently launched by China
2. It can fly 27 times the speed of sound

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• The Avangard previously known as Objekt 4202, Yu- 71 and Yu-74, is a Russian hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), that can be carried as a MIRV payload by the UR-100UTTKh, R-36M2 and RS-  28 Sarmat heavy ICBMs. It can deliver both nuclear  and conventional payloads.
• The Avangard is one of the six new Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir  Putin on 1 March 2018.

• It is Russian military’s first Avangard hypersonic intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
• It can fly 27 times the speed of sound.
• The missile system is a reentry body carried atop an existing ballistic missile, which has the capability to manoeuvre.
• It’s manoeuvring capability makes it difficult to predict its trajectory and gives it the ability to protect itself from the air and ballistic missile  defences by delivering nuclear warheads to targets
• The Avangard missiles have a range of over 6,000 km, weigh approximately 2,000 kg and can withstand temperatures of over 2000  degree celsius.

MCQ 9
eBkry Portal was recently launched for

1. Food quality control
2. Online school education assessment
3. To enable online auction by banks of attached  assets
4. Nurturing innovation among college youth

• Union Finance Ministry has recently launched the eBkry e-auction portal. eBkry Portal
• To enable online auction by banks of attached assets transparently and cleanly for the improved realization of value, eBक्रय is launched.
• It is framework for promoting online auction of assets attached by the
• It is equipped with the property search features and contains navigational links to all PSBs e-auction sites.
• The framework aims to provide single-window access to information on
• eBkry also contains photographs and videos of the properties uploaded on the platform.

MCQ 10
Preventive detention laws made by the parliament are 

1. MISA,1971
2. NASA,1980
3. POTA,2002
4. There was no law made by parliament

(A) 1 only
(B) 1 & 3
(C) 1,2,3
(D) 4

Preventive Detention

• The Article 22 (3) of the Indian constitution provides that, if a person is arrested or detained under a law providing for preventive  detention, then the protection against arrest and detention under  Article 22 (1) and 22(2) shall not be available.
• Preventive detention on the other hand is action taken beforehand to prevent possible commitment of crime.
• Preventive detention thus is action taken on grounds of suspicion that some wrong actions may be done by the person concerned.
• Preventive detention can however be made only on four grounds. The grounds for Preventive detention are—
• security of state,maintenance of public order,
  1. maintenance of supplies and essential services and defence,
  2. foreign affairs or security of India.
• A person may be detained without trial only on any or some of the above grounds. A detainee under preventive detention can have no right of personal liberty guaranteed  by Article 19 or Article 21. To prevent reckless use of Preventive Detention, certain safe  guards are provided in the constitution.
• Firstly, a person may be taken to preventive custody only for 3 months at the first If the period of detention is extended beyond 3 months, the case must be  referred to an Advisory Board consisting of persons with qualifications for appointment  as judges of High Courts. It is implicit, that the period of detention may be extended  beyond 3 months, only on approval by the Advisory Board.
• Secondly, the detainee is entitled to know the grounds of his detention. The state however may refuse to divulge the grounds of detention if it is in the public interest to do  Needless to say, this power conferred on the state leaves scope for arbitrary action on  the part of the authorities.
• Thirdly, the detaining authorities must give the detainee earliest opportunities for making representation against the detention. These safeguards are designed to minimize the misuse of preventive detention. It is because of  these safeguards that preventive detention, basically a denial of liberty, finds a place on  the chapter on fundamental rights. These safeguards are not available to enemy aliens.

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