Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 14-11-19 | Free PDF

MCQ 1

1. International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA),is popularly known as the International Seed Treaty.
2. Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act is an unique UN legislation to protect Farmers’ Rights and breeder’s rights.

Choose correct

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

 International Seed Treaty

• International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA),is popularly known as the International Seed Treaty.
• It is a comprehensive international agreement, which aims at guaranteeing food security through the conservation, exchange and sustainable use of the world’s plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA).
• It also recognizes farmers’ rights, subject to national laws to:

1. The protection of traditional knowledge relevant to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture;
2. The right to equitably participate in sharing benefits arising from the utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
3. The right to participate in making decisions, at the national level, on matters related to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

• The Treaty establishes the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing to facilitate plant germplasm exchanges and benefit sharing through Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA).
• The treaty was negotiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) and since 2006 has its own Governing Body under the aegis of the FAO.
• The Governing Body is the highest organ of the Treaty and holds biennial meetings.

 PPV & FR Act

• Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act is an unique Indian legislation to protect Farmers’ Rights and breeder’s rights.
• Under this acta farmer is entitled to save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share or sell his farm produce including seed of a variety protected under the PPV&FR Act, 2001 except brand name.
• PPV&FR Act is fully compliant to the International Seed Treaty.
• Under the provisions of PPV&FR Act, 138 farmers/farming communities have been awarded with Plant Genome Saviour Awards.

MCQ 2

 Credit rating agencies, registered under Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) are

1. SMERA
2. Moody’s
3. S & P
4. CRISIL

Choose correct

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

Credit Rating Agency

• A credit rating agency is a company that assigns credit ratings, which rate a debtor’s ability to pay back debt by making timely principal and interest payments and the likelihood of default.
• An agency may rate the creditworthiness of issuers of debt obligations, of debt instruments, and in some cases, of the servicers of the underlying debt, but not of individual consumers.
• The debt instruments rated by CRAs include government bonds, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, preferred stock, and collateralized securities, such as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations.
• The issuers of the obligations or securities may be companies, special purpose entities, state or local governments, non-profit organizations, or sovereign nations.
• A credit rating affects the interest rate that a security pays out, with higher ratings leading to lower interest rates.
• Individual consumers are rated for creditworthiness not by credit rating agencies but by consumer reporting agencies or credit reference agencies, which issue credit scores. As of now, there are six credit rating agencies registered under Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) namely,

1. CRISIL,
2. ICRA,
3. CARE,
4. SMERA,
5. Fitch India
6. Brickwork Ratings.

• Moody Investors Service & S&P is not a registered credit rating under SEBI

MCQ 3

 Organisations which are exempted under RTI Act

1. CBI
2. PMO
3. Intelligence Bureau
4. Directorate of Enforcement
5. Defence Research and Development Organisation

(A) 3 only
(B) 2 & 3
(C) 1,3,4,5
(D) All

• CBI is still out of RTI
• While the office of the CJI is now under the RTI’s ambit, the CBI is exempt. When the UPA government brought the RTI law on October 12, 2005, the CBI was under it. The agency later moved for exemption, and this file was endorsed by Law Minister M Veerappa Moily of the UPA government itself. Incidentally, the Administrative Reforms Commission chaired by Moily had earlier recommended exemption of the armed forces from the RTI Act, but had not made such a recommendation for the CBI.
• While the CBI demanded exemption only for units in intelligence gathering, exemption was granted in 2011 to the agency as a whole. The CBI, which is an agency that is often engaged in investigation of corruption cases, is today included in a list of exempted organisations in which most of the others are engaged in intelligence gathering. Litigation challenging the decision to exempt the CBI is pending
• There are organisations which are exempted under RTI Act :
• Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs
• Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Ministry of Finance
• Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Finance
• Directorate of Enforcement, Ministry of Finance
• Narcotics Control Bureau
• Aviation Research Centre
• Special Frontier Force
• Border Security Force, Ministry of Home Affairs
• Central Reserve Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs
• Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Ministry of Home Affairs
• Central Industrial Security Force, Ministry of Home Affairs
• National Security Guard, Ministry of Home Affairs
• Research & Analysis Wing of The Cabinet Secretariat
• Assam Rifles, Ministry of Home Affairs
• Sashastra Seema Bal, Ministry of Home Affairs
• Special Protection Group
• Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Defence
• Border Road Development Organisation
• Financial Intelligence Unit, India
• Directorate General Income Tax (Investigation)
• National Technical Research Organisation
• National Security Council Secretariat
• These organisations are exempted under RTI Act, but cases related to corruption and Human Rights Violation are not exempted.
• You cannot ask for someone’s personal information or something which is threat to national security.

MCQ 4

Swachh – Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan is run by ministry of

1. Shipping
2. Environment
3. Jal Shakti
4. NITI Aayog

Swachh – Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan

• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is undertaking a mass cleanliness-cum-awareness drive in 50 identified beaches under the “Swachh – Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan.
• The identified beaches are in 10 coastal States/Union Territories (UTs) namely Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha.
• The cleaning drives in all beaches are being undertaken, involving school/college students of Eco-clubs, district administration, institutions, volunteers, local communities and other stakeholders.
• Collected waste will be processed as per extant Waste Management Rules, 2016.
• Environment Education Division of the Ministry and Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) under the aegis of MoEF&CC will be responsible for the overall coordination for the drive in 50 beaches.

MCQ 5

1. “Tiger Triumph” is an exercise between India & Bhutan
2. it’s a joint tri-services Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise

Choose correct

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
MCQ 6

1. The 2019 Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report Card was released by UNICEF
2. Pneumonia is an autoimmune disease preventable with vaccine

Choose correct

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

Pneumonia, diarrhoea still a big threat

• Progress short on ensuring children have access to prevention and treatment services, finds global study The 10th pneumonia and diarrhoea progress report card has found that health systems are falling short of ensuring the world’s most vulnerable children access to prevention and treatment services in the 23 countries that together account for 75% of global pneumonia and diarrhoea deaths in children under five. India, which is home to a large population of under-five children, accounts for a major portion of these deaths, notes the report.
• “Rollout of rotavirus vaccines, beginning in 2016, and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, beginning in 2017, helped India’s scores improve.
• India’s exclusive breastfeeding rate, at 55%, is among the highest of the 23 countries. However, the proportion of children receiving important treatments, as with many other countries, remains below targets. Half of the children with diarrhoea receive ORS (oral rehydration solution) and 20% receive zinc supplementation — to help protect against, prevent and treat pneumonia and diarrhoea,” notes the report.
• This report analyses how effectively countries are delivering 10 key interventions, including breastfeeding, vaccination, access to care, use of antibiotics, ORS, and zinc supplementation.
• Additional reports from organisations like Save the Children and UNICEF have noted that, in 2017, the highest risk factors for child pneumonia death in India were: 53% caused by child wasting, 27% by outdoor air pollution, and 22% caused by indoor air pollution from solid fuels.
• Pulmonologit noted that children are the worst hit by sustained high levels of air pollution.
• The report card concludes that the global community must increase investment and support countries in developing smart, sustainable strategies that close gaps and accelerate progress. Globally, pneumonia and diarrhoea led to nearly one of every four deaths in children under five years of age in 2017.
•  Released ahead of World Pneumonia Day, on November 12, the 2019 Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report Card, by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, describes progress in fighting pneumonia and diarrhoea in countries with the highest absolute number of deaths, and for the first time in countries with the highest rates of deaths from these illnesses.

MCQ 7

1. C-295 transport plane is developed by HAL
2. The IAF has 56 Avro transport aircraft which are in urgent need of replacement

Choose correct

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

C-295 transport plane clears cost negotiations

• Tata-Airbus aircraft will replace the Air Force’s ageing fleet of Avros
• The Defence Ministry has concluded cost negotiations with Tata and Airbus for the purchase of the Airbus C-295 transport aircraft as part of the longdelayed Avro replacement programme of the Indian Air Force (IAF). “Cost negotiations for the C-295 deal have been completed. It is now being processed to put it up for clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). It is expected to be signed in the next few months,” a senior Defence official said.
• Initially, after the completion of cost negotiations, it was felt that a waiver from the Defence Acquisition Council would be needed on some technical issues. But Defence sources said the issue “has now been resolved.”
• The IAF has 56 Avro transport aircraft which are in urgent need of replacement. A further six aircraft for a maritime mission role for the Indian Coast Guard have been added taking the total number required to 62, estimated to cost upwards of $3 billion. While sources expressed optimism that the deal would be signed in this financial year, it is contingent on the availability of funds. The IAF has a situation where committed liabilities for this year are more than the capital allocation in the budget and few big ticket deals are on the agenda.

MCQ 8

1. BRICS Bond Fund was launched in 11th BRICS summit in New Delhi
2. It will help BRICS countries in BoP financial crisis

 Choose correct

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

 BRICS Bond Fund likely on agenda

• Prime Minister Narenda Modi left on Monday to attend the 11th BRICS summit to be held on November 13 and 14 in Brasilia. He will hold a round of bilateral meetings with leaders of the BRICS member countries after reaching the capital of Brazil on Wednesday morning.
• Mr. Modi is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday ahead of participating in the BRICS Business Forum. The leaders are scheduled to have a restricted session on Thursday. The visit is also significant from the bilateral India-Brazil point of view as India is expected to host Brazil President Bolsonaro as the Republic Day Parade chief guest in 2020 January.
• A Russian official on Tuesday said that during the summit, BRICS will discuss formation of BRICS Bond Fund, which will help member countries conduct intra-BRICS trade in national currencies, avoiding the U.S. dollar. “Trust in the U.S. dollar is not as high as it was and why we want to extend national currencies within BRICS,” said the official.
• The summit will discuss the Afghanistan and Syria crisis. Both China and Russia have maintained dialogue with the Taliban even after the U.S. ended peace talks with the outfit. “Stable, peaceful and non-radicalized Afghanistan is the focus of Russian approach,” said the official.
• The member countries will hold the plenary session of the BRICS on Thursday after which a BRICS MoU between trade and investment promotion agencies will be signed.

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