Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC 2020 / IAS / 22-12-19 | Free PDF

MCQ 1

1. Nagpur Resolution was recently undertaken by DARPG.
2. It is related to the field of governance. 3. Previously, the Shillong Declaration and the Jammu Resolution have been adopted for similar reason as Nagpur resolution.

Choose correct
(A) Only 1 and 2
(B) Only 2
(C) 1,2 and 3
(D) None

• The ‘Nagpur Resolution – A holistic approach for empowering citizens’ has been adopted at the end of the Regional Conference on ‘Improving Public Service Delivery – Role of Governments’, held recently in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• Key facts:
• The conference was organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India, in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra and the Maharashtra State Commission for Right to Public Services.
• Previously, the Shillong Declaration and the Jammu Resolution have been adopted for good governance.

Overview of the resolution:

• As per the resolution, the GOI, the Government of Maharashtra and other participating States shall collaborate to:
• To empower the citizens by policy interventions for better service delivery through timely updation of citizens charters, implementation of enactments and benchmarking standards for continuous improvement;
• To empower citizens by adopting a bottom-up approach to bring massive improvements in quality of grievance redressal and reduction in timelines of grievance redressal;
• To adopt a holistic approach of systemic public grievance reforms through improved mapping, formulation of monitoring matrix, data collection and evaluation in quality of grievance redressal;
• To provide an enabling environment for States and Ministries/Departments of the Government of India for creating web portals and to adopt a holistic approach for improved service delivery through digital platforms;
• To focus on dynamic policy-making and strategic decisions, monitoring of implementation, appointment of key personnel, coordination and evaluation;
• To achieve a sense of common identity by exchange of technical expertise in the areas of Improved Service Delivery between the paired States under the Ek Bharat – Shreshth Bharat Program;
• To ensure timely publication of Good Governance Index to identify the quality of governance in 10 sectors especially those pertaining to welfare and infrastructure at the Union, State and District levels.

MCQ 2

1. Under “Section 144 CrPC” order can be passed against the general public, not any particular individual
2. Section 144 does not empower the authorities to block the internet access.

Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
 (D) None
“Section 144 CrPC” was recently widely invoked by police forces across the country in order to contain the massive public protests against the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act.

What is Section 144?

• It gives power to a District Magistrate, a sub- divisional Magistrate or any other Executive Magistrate on behalf of the State Government to issue an order to an individual or the general public in a particular place or area to “abstain from a certain act” or “to take certain order with respect to certain property in his possession or under his management”.
• This order can be passed against a particular individual or general public. The order can be passed even ex-parte.
• As held by the Supreme Court, mere apprehension of danger is not a sufficient ground to curb citizens’ rights by invoking Section 144 CrPC.
• Section 144 restricts carrying any sort of weapon in that area where it has been imposed and people can be detained for violating it. The maximum punishment for such an act is three years.
• According to the order under this section, there shall be no movement of public and all educational institutions shall also remain closed and there will be a complete bar on holding any kind of public meetings or rallies during the period of operation of this order.
• Section 144 also empowers the authorities to block the internet access.
• No order under Section 144 shall remain in force for more than two months but the state government can extent the validity for two months and maximum up to six months.
• It can be withdrawn at any point of time if situation becomes normal. As per the Section, the order can be passed only “if such Magistrate considers”, that the direction is likely to prevent:
• obstruction, annoyance or injury to any person lawfully employed.
• danger to human life, health or safety.
• disturbance of the public tranquility, or a riot or affray. Four-fold test to determine proportionality: In Puttaswamy case (2017), the SC laid down a four-fold test to determine proportionality:
• A measure restricting a right must have a legitimate goal (legitimate goal stage).
• It must be a suitable means of furthering this goal (suitability or rationale connection stage).
• There must not be any less restrictive but equally effective alternative (necessity stage).
• The measure must not have a disproportionate impact on the right holder (balancing stage).

MCQ 3

1. United States President Donald Trump has signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, authorizing the establishment of Space Force
2. The main goal of the Space Force is to deal with space objects coming towards and dangerous to earth

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

• United States President Donald Trump has signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, authorising the establishment of Space Force which would become the sixth branch of the armed forces.

Key facts:

• Space Force would become the youngest US military branch, and the first new service since the establishment of the US Air Force back in 1947.
• The Space Force would be part of the Department of the Air Force.

Functions:

• The main goal of the Space Force is to secure and extend American dominance of the space domain.
• It will organize, train, and equip military space forces.

Why space has become so important?

• Space is a “war-fighting domain” and global powers like Russia and China are already treating it as such.
• Besides, the stakes are high. Much of our 21st-century economy and lifestyle — from bank transactions to weather forecasting to television service to the GPS directions — depends on satellite functioning round the clock and without interruption. The military depends on them too.
• In 2007, China shot down one of its own satellites — mission accomplished in its own right, it also littered orbit with potentially destructive space debris. Many saw the operation as a veiled display of military power.

Challenges:

• The fundamental difficulty of a space corps is that the physical environment of space is not conducive to the conduct of military operations without incurring serious losses in the form of spacecraft and debris.
• And despite efforts to make spacecraft more fuel efficient, the energy requirements are enormous. • The technical demands of defending assets in space make the possibility of dominance and space as a domain for war-fighting a sort of chimera.

MCQ 4

1. OIC is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations.
2. The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union.

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

• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has voiced concern over the Citizenship Amendment Act and the verdict in the Ayodhya case.
• The body has usually been supportive of Pakistan and often sided with Islamabad in its disputes with India.
• According to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 following religious persecution there will get Indian citizenship.
• The OIC urged the Indian government to ensure the safety of the Muslim minority and the protection of their religious sites.
• It also cautioned that “any action, contrary to these principles and obligations, may lead to further tensions and may have serious implications on peace and security across the region.”

 About the OIC:

• Organization of Islamic Cooperation is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states.
• It is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations.
• The organization states that it is “the collective voice of the Muslim world” and works to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony “.
• The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union.
• Permanent Secretariat is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

MCQ 5

1. National Mathematics Day is celebrated every year on December 22
2. It is observed to honor the birth anniversary of the famous mathematician Satyendra Nath Bose

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

• National Mathematics Day is celebrated every year on December 22.
• It is observed to honor the birth anniversary of the famous mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan who greatly contributed towards mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions.

National Mathematics Day:

• In 2012, the Indian Government declared that 22 December will be celebrated every year as National Mathematics Day.

 Highlights of Srinivasa Ramanujan’s life:

• In 1911, Ramanujan published the first of his papers in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society.
• Ramanujan traveled to England in 1914, where Hardy tutored him and collaborated with him in some research.
• He worked out the Riemann series, the elliptic integrals, hypergeometric series, the functional equations of the zeta function, and his own theory of divergent series.
• The number 1729 is known as the Hardy-Ramanujan number after a famous visit by Hardy to see Ramanujan at a hospital.
• Hardy observed Ramanujan’s work primarily involved fields less known even amongst other pure mathematicians.
• Ramanujan’s home state of Tamil Nadu celebrates 22 December as ‘State IT Day’, memorializing both the man and his achievements, as a native of Tamil Nadu.
• The Dev Patel-starrer ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ (2015) was a biopic on the mathematician.

MCQ 6

1. Eight West African countries have agreed to change the name of their common currency to Eco.
2. The Eco is the proposed name for the common currency that the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) plans to introduce in the framework of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

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

• Eight West African countries have agreed to change the name of their common currency to Eco.
• CFA franc was their currency so far.
• The CFA franc was initially pegged to French franc and has been linked to euro for about two decades.
• CFA stood for Colonies françaises d’Afrique (“French colonies of Africa”) The 8 West African countries namelyIvory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Guinea-Bissau All these currently use CFA France as their currency. All these countries, except Guinea-Bissau, are former French colonies.

West African Monetary Zone

• Formed in 2000, the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) is a group of six countries within ECOWAS that plan to introduce a common currency called the Eco.
• The six member states of WAMZ are Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone who founded the organization together in 2000 and Liberia who joined in 2010.
• Apart from Guinea, which is francophone, they are all English-speaking countries.
• Along with Mauritania, Guinea opted out of the CFA franc currency shared by all other former French colonies in West and Central Africa.
• The WAMZ attempts to establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the euro and is guaranteed by the French Treasury.
• The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and eco to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single, stable currency.
• The launch of the new currency is being developed by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana.
• The Economic Community of West African States, also known as ECOWAS, is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of 5,114,162 km2 (1,974,589 sq mi), and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million.
• The union was established on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, with its stated mission to promote economic integration across the region. A revised version of the treaty was agreed and signed on 24 July 1993 in Cotonou.
• Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC), the stated goal of ECOWAS is to achieve “collective self-sufficiency” for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.
• ECOWAS also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region, with member states occasionally sending joint military forces to intervene in the bloc’s member countries at times of political instability and unrest.

MCQ 7
Chillai-Kalan is the name given to A.

1. A folk dance
2. A ritual among tribals in north east
3. Harvest festival
4. NOTA

• The 40-day harshest winter period in Kashmir, known in the local parlance as ‘Chillai-Kalan’, has begun with the upper reaches of the valley receiving snowfall.
•  These 40 days are when the chances of snowfall are the highest and the maximum temperature drops considerably.

MCQ 8

1. Hunar Haats are organised by Ministry of tribal affairs under USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) scheme.
2. Hunar Haat is an exhibition of handicrafts and traditional products made by artisans from the tribal communities.

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

• Hunar Haats are organized by Ministry of Minority Affairs under USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) scheme.
• The USTTAD scheme aims at preserving & promoting the rich heritage of the traditional arts & crafts of the Minority communities.
• Hunar Haat is an exhibition of handicrafts and traditional products made by artisans from the Minority communities.
• Aimed at promoting and supporting artisans from Minority communities and providing them domestic as well as international markets for displaying and selling their products.

MCQ 9
Which of the following are not the tributaries of river Kaveri
1.Kabini
 2.Bhima
 3.Amravati
4.Koyna
5.Manjra
Select the correct code:

1. a) 1, 3
2. b) 1, 2, 3
3. c) 1, 4, 5
4. d) 2, 4, 5

• Important tributaries of Kaveri river are Shimsa, Hemavathi, Honnuhole, Arkavathi, Kapila, Lakshmana Theertha, Kabini, Lokapavani, Bhavani, Noyil and Amaravathy.
• Manjra is the tributary of Godavari River.
• Bhima and Koyna are the tributaries of Krishna River.

MCQ 10
 The rock art of Bhimbetka belong to which of the following periods?
 1.Upper Palaeolithic
2.Mesolithic
3.Chalcolithic Select the correct code:

1. 1, 2
2.  2, 3
3.  1, 3
4.  1, 2, 3

• The rock art of Bhimbetka has been classified into various groups on the bases of style, technique and superimposition.
• The drawings and paintings can be categorized into seven historical periods.
• Period I – Upper Palaeolithic
• Period II – Mesolithic
• Period III – Chalcolithic
• Period IV & V – Early historic
• Period VI & VII – Medieval

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