Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC 2020 / IAS / 10-01-2020 | Free PDF

 MCQ 1
Which of these is/are correct regarding curative petitions?

1. A curative petition is a very common remedy availed by death row convicts.
2. It was devised by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in its judgment in the Rupa Ashok Hurra case in 2002.
3. The basis for filing such a petition can be biased nature of judge.
4. The SC recently accepted curative petitions in Ayodhya judgement.

1. 1 and 4
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 ,2 and 4
4. None

• The concept of Curative petition was evolved by the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra (2002) where the question was whether an aggrieved person is entitled to any relief against the final judgement/order of the Supreme Court, after dismissal of a review petition.
• The Supreme Court in the said case held that in order to prevent abuse of its process and to cure gross miscarriage of justice, it may reconsider its judgements in exercise of its inherent powers
• To entertain the curative petitions, the Supreme Court has laid down specific conditions. Its laid down in order
• The requirements which are needed in order to accept the curative petitions are: 1. The petitioner will have to establish that there was a genuine violation of principles of natural justice and fear of the bias of the judge and judgement that adversely affected him. 2. The petition shall state specifically that the grounds mentioned had been taken in the review petition and that it was dismissed by circulation.

MCQ 2
Which of these is/are correct pertaining to NCRB?

1. NCRB was set-up in on the recommendations of the National Police Commission (1977-1981).
2. It acts as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators.
3. It releases only one report annually regarding crime statistics.
4. Uttar pradesh tops in crimes against women in 2018

1. 1,2 and 4
2. 2,3 and 4
3. All
4. None

• The National Crime Records Bureau, abbreviated to NCRB, is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL).
• NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi and is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
• NCRB was set-up in 1986 to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators.
• It was set up based on the recommendation of the Task force,1985 and National Police Commission,1977 by merging the Directorate of Coordination and Police Computer (DCPC), Inter State Criminals Data Branch of CBI and Central Finger Print Bureau of CBI.

NCRB brings out three annual reports.

1. Crime in India,
2. Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India
3. Prison Statistics India.

• These reports are principal reference points for police officers, researchers, media& policy makers.

• A sudden dip in crime rate in India since 2016 – two years after the Narendra Modi government came to power at the Centre.
• The crime rate was over 540 in 2013, which increased to 581 in 2014 and almost 582 in 2015. The crime rate then suddenly dropped – by about 35 per cent– to 379.3 in 2016 increasing to 388.6 in 2017 and dipping again in 2018 to 383.5.
• How did Indians shed their criminal character by such a big margin?
• The answer lies in a new methodology adopted by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB).
• It is called the Principal Offence Rule (POR), which the bureau adopted for classifying crime data of 2016.
• According to the Principal Offence Rule, each criminal incident is recorded as one crime.
• If many offences are registered in a single FIR case, only the most heinous crime – one that attracts maximum punishment — will be considered as counting unit.
• According to the 2018 report, 3,78,277 cases of crime against women were reported.
• 2017 – 3,59,849.

1. Uttar Pradesh 59,445 cases
2. Maharashtra (35,497)
3. West Bengal (30,394)

The conviction rate in rape-related cases stood at 27.2%
MCQ 3
 Consider the following statements regarding recently released Good Governance Index.

1. Good Governance Index is released by NITI Ayog.
2. The index ranks states in the sectors like human resource development, economic governance, environment and citizen-centric governance.
3. Tamil Nadu has topped the Good Governance Index.
4. Jharkhand is the worst performing state

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1,2,3
2. 2,3,4
3. All
4. None

• The Good Governance Index (GGI) has been launched by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions to determine the status of governance in the country.
• It assesses the impact of various interventions taken up by the State Government and UTs.
• The Good Governance Day is observed on 25th December to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Objectives of GGI:

1. Provide quantifiable data to compare the State of Governance in the States and UTs.
2. Enable States and UTs to formulate and implement suitable strategies for improving governance.
3. Shift to result-oriented approaches and administration.

• The States and UTs are divided into three groups — the Big States, North-East and Hill States, and Union Territories.
• Findings of GGI:
• Big States: Tamil Nadu topped the index followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh whereas Odisha, Bihar, Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand are poor performers.
• North-East and Hill States: Himachal Pradesh ranked first, followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Mizoram and Sikkim. Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh are the worst performers in this group.
• Union Territories: Puducherry is the best-governed UT followed by Chandigarh and Delhi. Lakshadweep is the worst performing UT.

The GGI takes into consideration the following ten sectors:

• Agriculture and Allied Sectors,
• Commerce & Industries,
• Human Resource Development,
• Public Health,
• Public Infrastructure & Utilities,
• Economic Governance,
• Social Welfare & Development,
• Judicial & Public Security,
• Environment
• Citizen-Centric Governance

 MCQ 4
According to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD’s) Statement on Climate of India During 2019 report, Arabian Sea on India’s west coast saw a 400% rise in cyclones, a record that is repeated only after 1902. Which five cyclones hit Arabian Sea in 2019?

1. Vayu, Hikaa, Kyarr, Maha and Pawan
2. Bulbul, Hikaa, Kyarr, Maha and Pawan
3. Fani, Hikaa,Kyarr,Maha and Pabuk
4. Bulbul, Fani, Hikaa, Maha and Pabuk

•  4 major cyclonic storms formed off the coast of India in the Arabian Sea – Vayu, Hikaa,Kyarr and Maha. The India Meteorological Department released its much-awaited report – Statement on Climate of India During 2019
• The number of cyclones in Arabian Sea stood out in particular.
• 2019 was tumultuous in term of extreme and contrasting weather events.
• Five of the eight cyclones — 60 per cent of the total — that affected India in 2019 were on the Arabian Sea.
• Normally, the sea on India’s west undergoes only one cyclone.
• 2019 equals the previous record of 1902 for the highest frequency of cyclones over the Arabian Sea
• This year also witnessed development of more intense cyclones over the Arabian Sea
• Out of five systems formed in the Arabian Sea, there have been two very severe cyclonic storms, one extremely severe cyclonic storm and one super cyclonic storm.

 MCQ 5
Read the following statements about green credits scheme.

1. The scheme allows agencies private companies or village forest communities to identify land and begin growing plantations.
2. It will allow “forests” to be traded as a commodity.
3. Forest advisory Committee has objected to the scheme.

Which statements are untrue?

1. Only 3
2. Only 2
3. ALL
4. 1 and 2

• The Green credits scheme Forest Advisory Committee has approved the implementation of Green Credit scheme. Key features of the scheme:
• It allows “forests” to be traded as a commodity.
• It allows the Forest Department to outsource one of its responsibilities of reforesting to non-government agencies.

 Implementation:

• The scheme allows agencies — they could be private companies, village forest communities — to identify land and begin growing plantations.
• After three years, they would be eligible to be considered as compensatory forest land if they met the Forest Department’s criteria.
• An industry needing forest land could then approach the agency and pay it for parcels of such forested land, and this would then be transferred to the Forest Department and be recorded as forest land.
• The participating agency will be free to trade its asset, that is plantation, in parcels, with project proponents who need forest land.

Present scenario:

• In the current system, industry needs to make good the loss of forest by finding appropriate non-forest land — equal to that which would be razed.
• It also must pay the State Forest Department the current economic equivalent — called Net Present Value — of the forest land.
• It’s then the Forest Department’s responsibility to grow appropriate vegetation that, over time, would grow into forests.

Need for change:

• Industries have often complained that they find it hard to acquire appropriate non-forest land, which has to be contiguous to existing forest.
• Nearly ₹50,000 crore had been collected by the Centre over decades, but the funds were lying unspent because States were not spending the money on regrowing forests.
• The Supreme Court intervened, a new law came about with rules for how this fund was to be administered. About ₹47,000 crore had been disbursed to States until August, but it has barely led to any rejuvenation of forests.

MCQ 6
 What are the correct statement/s according to ‘ Top risks for 2020’ Report released recently ?

1. This report was released by StratFor think tank
2. USA is ranked number 1 as a risk.
3. India is ranked 2 nd on the list as a global risk

1. 1 and 2
2. 1,2 and 3
3. 2 only
4. 3 only

• The report was released by Eurasia Group, which is a leading global political risk management consultancy.
• It is an international consulting group that works with investors and business leaders.
• The reports has named the Narendra Modi government’s “controversial social policies” in a list of geopolitical risks in 2020.

The report pointed to the

1. Scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status,
2. The Supreme Court-monitored citizenship verification drive (NRC) in Assam
3. Amendment to the Citizenship Act before predicting an increase in “sectarian and religious conflict”.

Why USA is number 1?

• US domestic politics have been listed as the top risk.
• US institutions are among the world’s strongest and most resilient.
• This year, those institutions will be tested in unprecedented ways.
• We face risks of a US election that many will view as illegitimate, uncertainty in its aftermath, and a foreign policy environment made less stable by the resulting vacuum.

MCQ 7 Read the following statements carefully.

1. Carlos Ghosn is an ex – executive of automotive giants like Renault and Nissan
2. He is a citizen of USA
3. He fled Japan illegally due to being wanted of financial irregularities
4. Jordan has granted him asylum.

 Which are untrue?

1. 1,2 and 3
2. 2,3 and 4
3. 2 only
4. 2 and 4

•  Carlos Ghosn is a Brazilian-born French businessman of Lebanese ancestry
• He is currently an internationally wanted fugitive.
• Ghosn has served as the CEO of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman and CEO of Nissan, and chairman of Mitsubishi Motors.
• Mr Ghosn fled to Lebanon from Japan on a private jet via Istanbul on 29 December 2019.
• He said he had been a “hostage” in Japan, with a choice between dying there or running.

MCQ 8
Which among the following is / are not minor plates :

1. A) Nazca Plate
2. B) Antarctica Plate
3. C) Pacific Plate
4. D) Philippine Plate

1) A & D
2) B & D
3) B & C
4) A & D
Minor Plates : Cocos Plate, Nazca Plate, Arabian Plate, Philippine plate, Caroline Plate, Fuji Plate
Major Plates : Antarctica, North America, South America, Pacific plate, India – Australia – New Zealand Plate, Africa with the eastern Atlantic Oceanic Plate, Eurasia plate
MCQ 9
Minor Plates                        Location

1. A) Cocos Plate           1) Between Central America & Pacific Plate
2. B) Nazca Plate           2) Between South America & Pacific Plate
3. C) Philippine Plate   3) Between Asiatic and Pacific plate

Options :
1) A – 3, B – 2, C – 1
2) A- 3, B – 1, C – 2
3) A-1, , B – 3, C – 2
 4) A – 1, B – 2, C – 3

MCQ 10
Consider the following statements :

1. A) River Zaire is the only river to cross the equator twice
2. B) Bay of Biscay is a gulf of Pacific Ocean

Choose the correct statement Options :
1) Both are correct
2)Only A is correct
3)Only B is correct
4)None is correct

• The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc’h to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal.

•  The equator passes through 13 countries.
•  Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the Equator passes through:

• (Africa – 7) : Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, (Asia-Pacific – 3) : Maldives*, Indonesia and Kiribati*,
•  (South America – 3) : Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil
•  it doesn’t pass through actual land territory.

•  River Zaire is the only river to cross the equator twice
•  The Congo River (also spelled Kongo River and known as the Zaire River) is the second longest river in Africa after the Nile .

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