Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC 2020 / IAS / 21-12-19

MCQ 1

NITI Aayog has launched a skilling platform called ‘Future Skills’ for 10,000 students from over 20 engineering colleges in India.
It’s a part of TalentNext program which aims to enhance the quality of engineering education by preparing faculty and academic leaders to train students.

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Wipro has partnered with NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) to launch a skilling platform called ‘Future Skills’ for 10,000 students from over 20 engineering colleges in India.

Key facts:

This is a part of Wipro’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, TalentNext.
TalentNext aims to enhance the quality of engineering education by preparing faculty and academic leaders to train
The programme has now been extended to students directly through Future Skills.

What is Future Skills?

It is a new age platform built to bridge the industry- academia skill gap and help students keep pace with the emerging technologies — artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, cybersecurity and internet of things (IoT) – to make them future-ready.

Significance:

The platform enables learning the skills required in emerging More importantly, it helps individuals develop an aptitude for learning.
As a host of emerging technologies change the future of work, a massive disruption is facing the IT-ITES industry
Of the 4.5 m people employed in the industry today, 1.5 -2 m are expected to require reskilling in the next 4-5 years.
A decoupling of revenue and headcount growth is visible even today and employers and employees need to adapt themselves to the changing job environment of technological shifts and changing stakeholder expectations.
The problem is too large to be handled alone.
It needs a collaborative industry level response.

MCQ 2

It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the
A usual resident is defined for the purposes of NPR as a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 years or more

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Following the footsteps of West Bengal, the Kerala Government has decided to put on hold all proceedings for updating the National Population Register (NPR).

Why?

Because of the apprehensions among the general public about the conduct of NPR related activities would lead to national register of citizens (NRC) in the wake of citizenship amendment act 2019.
What is National Population Register (NPR)?
It is a Register of usual residents of the country.
It is being prepared at the local (Village/sub-Town), sub- District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.
Who is a usual resident?
A usual resident is defined for the purposes of NPR as a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next 6 months or more.
The data for the NPR was first collected in 2010 along with the house listing phase of Census 2011.
In 2015, this data was further updated by conducting a door-to-door
However, with the use of Aadhaar as the key vehicle for transfer of government benefits in the last few years, the NPR has taken a

Components:

The NPR database would contain demographic as well as biometric
As per the provisions of the NPR, a resident identity card (RIC) will be issued to individuals over the age of 18.
This will be a chip-embedded smart card containing the demographic and biometric attributes of each individual.
The UID number will also be printed on the card. What is the controversy around it?
Comes in the backdrop of the NRC excluding lakhs of people in Assam.
It intends to collect a much larger amount of personal data on residents of India.
There is yet no clarity on the mechanism for protection of this vast amount of data.

MCQ 3

Chabahar Port is Located on the Gulf of Persia and is the only oceanic port of the country Iran.
TIR Convention is followed to harmonize transit, roads, customs and consular matters.

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India, Afghanistan and Iran recently met to discuss the issues in the implementation of Chabahar port in Iran.
This was the second meeting of the Follow-up Committee for implementation of the trilateral Chabahar Agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran at the level of Joint Secretary/ Director General.

Outcomes of the meet:

The three countries have decided to open Mormugoa and New Mangalore Port in addition to JNPT, Mundra, Kandla and Cochin as part of designated route under the Chabahar
It was agreed to finalise the protocol to harmonise transit, roads, customs and consular matters.
Till that time, the TIR Convention will continue to be used for cargo movement.

Why Chabahar port is important for India?

With this, India can bypass Pakistan in transporting goods to Afghanistan.
It will also boost India’s access to Iran, the key gateway to the International North- South Transport Corridor that has sea, rail and road routes between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and Central Asia.
It also helps India counter Chinese presence in the Arabian Sea which China is trying to ensure by helping Pakistan develop the Gwadar port. Gwadar port is less than 400 km from Chabahar by road and 100 km by sea.
With Chabahar port being developed and operated by India, Iran also becomes a military ally to India. Chabahar could be used in case China decides to flex its navy muscles by stationing ships in Gwadar port to reckon its upper hand in the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Middle East.
Trade benefits: With Chabahar port becoming functional, there will be a significant boost in the import of iron ore, sugar and rice to India. The import cost of oil to India will also see a considerable decline. India has already increased its crude purchase from Iran since the West imposed ban on Iran was lifted.
From a diplomatic perspective, Chabahar port could be used as a point from where humanitarian operations could be coordinated.
TIR “Transports Internationaux Routiers“ or “International Road Transports”
The Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) is a multilateral treaty that was concluded at Geneva on 14 November 1975 to simplify and harmonise the administrative formalities of international road
The conventions were adopted under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
As of December 2018, there are 76 parties to the Convention, including 75 states and the European Union

MCQ 4

NAFTA is the initialism for the North American Free Trade Agreement, an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States with EU
The House of Representatives has passed the United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement — the replacement for NAFTA, or the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.

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What is NAFTA?

NAFTA is the initialism for the North American Free Trade Agreement,
an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that reduced or eliminated trade barriers in North
Since the U.S. and Canada already had a free trade agreement (signed in 1988), NAFTA merely brought Mexico into the trade bloc.
The agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994.

What was the purpose of NAFTA?

In 1993 the European Union (EU) created a “single market”—one territory without any internal borders or other regulatory obstacles to the free movement of goods and services.
This allowed every country and business in the EU to have access to more than 500 million consumers.
NAFTA, which was approved that same year, was designed to have a similar effect, providing a way to allow the exchange of goods and services to flow more freely across national borders without the artificial
NAFTA provided for progressive elimination of all tariffs on any goods qualifying as North American.
The deal also sought to protect intellectual property, establish dispute- resolution mechanisms, and, through corollary agreements, implement labor and environmental safeguards.

New development

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)— the replacement for NAFTA
The new deal includes stronger labor and environmental
American labor groups have backed the new trade deal.
It’s basically NAFTA 2.0, with major changes on cars and new policies on labor and environmental standards, intellectual property protections, and some digital trade provisions.

The changes include:

Country of origin rules: Automobiles must have 75% of their components manufactured in Mexico, the US, or Canada to qualify for zero tariffs (up from 62.5 percent under NAFTA).
Labor provisions: 40 to 45 percent of automobile parts have to be made by workers who earn at least $16 an hour by 2023.
Mexico has also agreed to pass laws giving workers the right to union representation, extend labor protections to migrant workers, and protect women from discrimination.
The countries can also sanction one another for labor violations.

MCQ 5
Indian Govt. launched EChO Network for

Space tech reforms
Defence manufacturing
Environment management
To encourage cross-disciplinary leadership

Indian Government has launched a network to encourage cross-disciplinary leadership- Called EChO Network.
Aim: To identify gaps in knowledge regarding environment and then train postdoctoral leaders in research and outreach on these topics, incorporating current public and private efforts.

Key features:

It will provide a template for cross-disciplinary leadership in India with the specific focus of increasing research, knowledge, and awareness of Indian ecology and the environment.
The Network would develop a national network to catalyse a new generation of Indians who can synthesize interdisciplinary concepts and tackle real-world problems in medicine, agriculture, ecology, and technology.

How it works?

Through interactive sessions with citizens, industry, academia, and the government, the Network will identify gaps in knowledge regarding selected topics in human and environmental
The program will then train postdoctoral leaders in research and outreach on these topics, while also incorporating current public and private efforts into a national network.
It would then go on to establishing nation-wide awareness in these issues through public discourse and education for citizens, industry, and government with information exchange at all educational levels.
Despite concerted efforts to promote ecological and environmental research, India lacks trained scientists with interdisciplinary skills and collaborative mind-set.
Educators and students need to be trained to identify and solve problems in an interdisciplinary manner.
This network will inspire an entirely new approach to Indian education and exploration necessary for the post- technological world.

MCQ 6

The European Green Deal was signed for Europe in CoP21
The EU has promised to bring a law, binding on all member countries, to ensure it becomes “climate neutral” by 2050.

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On the sidelines of recently concluded annual Madrid Climate talks, the European Union came up with an announcement on additional measures it would on climate It is Called the European Green Deal.

key features of the European Green Deal:

Climate neutrality: The EU has promised to bring a law, binding on all member countries, to ensure it becomes “climate neutral” by 2050.

What is Climate neutrality?

Sometimes also expressed as a state of net-zero emissions, it is achieved when a country’s emissions are balanced by absorptions and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Absorption can be increased by creating more carbon sinks like forests, while removal involves technologies like carbon capture and storage.

Increase in 2030 emission reduction target:

In its climate action plan declared under the Paris Agreement, the EU was committed to making a 40 per cent reduction in its emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
It is now promising to increase this reduction to at least 50 per cent and work towards 55 per cent.

Significance of the deal:

EU with 28 member countries are together the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world after China and the United States.
Therefore, the announcement was hailed as a major step forward, even though it needs complementary efforts from other countries to make a significant impact.

MCQ 7

Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) has been recognized formally by the National Department of Regulation of Medicines and Health Products of the Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
It’s a newly found disease which is not curable by any drugs available right now

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The Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) has been recognised formally by the National Department of Regulation of Medicines and Health Products of the Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of
It will also be used based on the requirement as reputable pharmacopoeia in the laboratory of medicines and health products quality.

What is IP?

IP is an officially recognized book of standards as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945 thereunder.
The IP specifies the standards of drugs manufactured and marketed in India in terms of their identity, purity and strength.

MCQ 8
Consider the following statements about the powers of the National Commission for SCs:

It has the powers of a civil court while trying specific cases.
It is also required to discharge similar functions in respect of the Anglo-Indian community (a minority) as it does with respect to the SCs.
The Central government and the state governments are required to consult the commission on all major policy matters affecting the SCs.

Which of these is/are correct? Choose the correct answer using the codes below:

1 and 2
2 and 3
1 and 3
All of the above

Powers of the commission:

The Commission is vested with the power to regulate its own procedure.
The Commission, while investigating any matter or inquiring into any complaint, has all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and in particular in respect of the following matters:
Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath;
Requiring the discovery and production of any document;
Receiving evidence on affidavits;
Requisitioning any public record from any court or office;
Issuing summons for the examination of witnesses and documents; and

MCQ 9
Consider the following statements

Black soils are rich in Iron, magnesia and alumina.
Laterite soils are rich in lime, iron oxide and aluminium

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

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Black soils – are rich in lime, iron, magnesia and alumina. They also contain potash.
But they lack in phosphorous, nitrogen and organic matter.
Laterite soil – With rain, lime and silica are leached away, and soils rich in iron oxide and aluminium compound are left behind.
These soils are poor in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphate and
While iron oxide and potash are in excess.

MCQ 10
Consider the following statements:

The soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall.
They are generally poor in nitrogen, phosphorous and humus.
They are fertile when fine-grained and are poor in fertility when they are coarse-grained.

The above statements refer to:

Laterite soil
Black Soil
Red and Yellow Soil
None of the above

Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern part of the Deccan Plateau.
Along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghat, long stretch of area is occupied by red loamy soil.
Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh and in the southern parts of the middle Ganga plain.
The soil develops a reddish colour due to a wide diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.
The fine-grained red and yellow soils are normally fertile, whereas coarse- grained soils found in dry upland areas are poor in fertility.
They are generally poor in nitrogen, phosphorous and humus.