Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 15-09-19 | Free PDF

MCQ 1

4P1000 Initiative recently was in news is related to

1. AMR issue
2. Climate change
3. Plastic ban
4. Soils for food security and climate

• Bamboonomics
• Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched the biggest Tribal movement, to promote tribal enterprise through ‘Bamboonomics’.
• It was launched for combating desertification and the climate change at COP 14 to the UNCCD.
• TRIFED introduced the ‘The 4P1000 Initiative: The Tribal Perspective through Bamboonomics’.
• The international initiative “4 per 1000” was launched by France in 2015 at the COP 21. The aim of the initiative is to,
• Demonstrate that agriculture, and in particular agricultural soils can play a crucial role where food security and climate change are concerned.
• The ambition of the initiative is to,
• Encourage stakeholders to transition towards a productive, highly resilient agriculture,
• based on the appropriate management of lands and soils,
• creating jobs and incomes hence ensuring sustainable development.
• An annual growth rate of 0.4% in the soil carbon stocks, or 4‰ per year, in the first 30-40 cm of soil, would significantly reduce the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere related to human activities. This is what the 4 per 1000 Initiative proposes, soils for food security and climate.
• The initiative is intended to complement those necessary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally
• It is voluntary, it is up to each member to define how they want to contribute to the goals.

MCQ 2

1. INS Vikrant is India’s only operational aircraft carrier
2. It is the first aircraft carrier to be built in India by Cochin Shipyard

Choose correct

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

• INS Vikrant, also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1),[10] is an aircraft carrier under construction by Cochin Shipyard in Kochi, Kerala for the Indian Navy. It is the first aircraft carrier to be built in India. The name Vikrant (Sanskrit vikrānta, literally “stepping beyond”) means “courageous”. The motto of the ship is Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah, which is taken from Rigveda 1.8.3 and can be translated as “I defeat those who fight against me”.
• Work on the ship’s design began in 1999, and the keel was laid in February 2009. The carrier was floated out of its dry dock on 29 December 2011 and was launched on 12 August 2013. As of 2019, the ship is expected to start sea trials in February 2021 and enter into service in early 2023
• INS Vikramaditya (Sanskrit, Vikramāditya meaning “Brave as the Sun”) is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier and the flagship of the Indian Navy, which entered into service in 2013. She has been renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, a legendary emperor of India.
• Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet Navy and later with the Russian Navy (as Admiral Gorshkov) before being decommissioned in 1996. The carrier was purchased by India on 20 January 2004 after years of negotiations at a final price of $2.35 billion. The ship successfully completed her sea trials in July 2013 and aviation trials in September 2013.
• She was commissioned on 16 November 2013 at a ceremony held at Severodvinsk, Russia. On 14 June 2014, the Prime Minister of India formally inducted INS Vikramaditya into the Indian Navy and dedicated her to the nation
• Tejas – Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)
• The naval variant of the LCA Tejas has made a first successful “Arrested landing” test.
• Arrested landing means to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands.
• In about 2 seconds, Tejas decelerated from 244 km/hr to standstill by, snagging the wire on the test runway with the hook attached to the jet’s fuselage (body).
• The Tejas will need to replicate this, out at sea when it attempts to land on the deck of India’s only operational aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya.
• An “arrested landing” on the deck of an aircraft carrier is a feat achieved only by a handful of fighter jets developed in the US, Russia, UK, France and China.
• The aircraft has to land on a 100-metre runaway on an aircraft carrier (a normal LCA lands on a one-kilometre runway).

 MCQ 3

1. Article 44 talks about an enforceable issue
2. It considers positive discrimination among people

 Choose correct

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

• Article 44 of the Constitution says that there should be a Uniform Civil Code. According to this article, “The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”. Since the Directive Principles are only guidelines, it is not mandatory to use them.

India needs a Uniform Civil Code for the following reasons:

• A secular republic needs a common law for all citizens rather than differentiated rules based on religious practices.
• Another reason why a uniform civil code is needed is gender justice. The rights of women are usually limited under religious law, be it Hindu or Muslim. The practice of triple talaq is a classic example.
• Many practices governed by religious tradition are at odds with the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Indian Constitution.
• Courts have also often said in their judgements that the government should move towards a uniform civil code including the judgement in the Shah Bano case.

MCQ 4

1. Community Radio Stations must be a ‘non-profit’ organization and should have a proven record of at least three years of service to the local community.
2. They are maintained and financed by Local communities

Choose correct

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

118 new Community Radio Stations to be set-up.

What are CRS?

• Community Radios are small (low power) FM radio stations with a coverage area of around 10-15 Km radius, depending on the geography of the area.
• CRS play a significant role in dissemination of agriculture related information, government schemes for people’s welfare, weather forecast etc.
• Today, there are more than 180 community radio stations across India, broadcasting in languages like Bundelkhandi, Garhwali, Awadhi and Santhali — tongues that typically find little or no space on television.
• As per the 2006 policy of the Government, an organisation desirous of operating a Community Radio Station (CRS) must be able to satisfy and adhere to the following principles:
• It should be explicitly constituted as a ‘non-profit’ organisation and should have a proven record of at least three years of service to the local community.
• The Community Radio Station should serve a specific well-defined local community.
• The ownership and management structure should be such that it reflects the community which it serves.
• It should only broadcast programmes that cater to the educational, developmental, social and cultural needs of the community.
• The organization must be a Legal Entity. it should be registered (under the registration of Societies Act or any other such act relevant to the purpose).
• At least 50% of content shall be generated with the participation of the local community, for which the station has been set up.
• Programmes should preferably be in the local language and dialect(s).
• The CRS license thus given by the government entitled them to operate a 100-watt (Effective Radiated Power) radio station, with a coverage area of approximately a 12-km radius. A maximum antenna height of 30 meters is allowed.

MCQ 5

1. India has become the first country in the world to implement a Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) Policy
2. A central agency will be established at NITI Aayog to implement the SSR.

Choose correct

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

• India is going to be possibly the first country in the world to implement a Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) Policy on the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). A draft of the new policy has been made available by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• To encourage science and technology (S&T) institutions and individual scientists in the country to proactively engage in science outreach activities to connect science with the society.
• To harness latent potential of the scientific community for strengthening linkages between science and society, and for making S&T ecosystem vibrant.
• To develop a mechanism for ensuring access to scientific knowledge, transferring benefits of science to meet societal needs, promoting collaborations to identify problems and develop solutions.

Highlights of the draft:

• Under the proposed policy, individual scientists or knowledge workers will be required to devote at least 10 person-days of SSR per year for exchanging scientific knowledge to society.
• It also recognizes the need to provide incentives for outreach activities with necessary budgetary support.
• It has also been proposed to give credit to knowledge workers/scientists for individual SSR activities in their annual performance appraisal and evaluation.
• No institution would be allowed to outsource or sub-contract their SSR activities and projects.
• The draft defines SSR as “the ethical obligation of knowledge workers in all fields of science and technology to voluntarily contribute their knowledge and resources to the widest spectrum of stakeholders in society, in a spirit of service and conscious reciprocity”.
• A central agency will be established at DST to implement the SSR. Other ministries would also be encouraged to make their own plans to implement SSR as per their mandate.

MCQ 6

1. Nelco Ltd is a govt PSU under dept of telecom
2. Nelco is the first Indian company to offer communication services to the maritime sector in Indian waters.

 Choose correct

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

• Maritime Communication Services to offer broadband services to support those travelling at sea was launched at Mumbai, Maharashtra. Along with Maritime Communication Services, a web portal for reporting stolen mobiles to help trace them was also launched.
• This portal is under a project called Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system, which has been undertaken by Department of Telecom for addressing security, theft and other concerns including reprogramming of mobile handsets.
• Nelco Ltd which is India’s leading VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) solutions provider will now provide quality broadband services to maritime sector. VSAT technology offers a satellite internet connection globally.
• Nelco, a Tata Group company through global partnerships, infrastructure including transponder capacity on satellite of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and a comprehensive service portfolio aims to help energy, cargo and cruise vessels by enabling customer services….
• Nelco has a licence from government for IFMC (in-flight and maritime connectivity) that allows to offer voice and internet services while flying over Indian skies and sailing in Indian waters, both for Indian se well as international aircraft and vessels.
• In December 2018, Government announced IFMC licence program, which seeks to liberalise satellite communications services in the country. IFMC licence not only enabled connectivity for onboard users on ships but also brings operational efficiency for shipping companies.
• A very small aperture terminal (VSAT) is a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3.8 meters. The majority of VSAT antennas range from 75 cm to 1.2 m. Data rates, in most cases, range from 4 kbit/s up to 16 Mbit/s. VSATs access satellites in geosynchronous orbit or geostationary orbit to relay data from small remote Earth stations (terminals) to other terminals (in mesh topology) or master Earth station “hubs” (in star topology).
• VSATs are used to transmit narrowband data (e.g., point-ofsale transactions using credit cards, polling or RFID data, or SCADA), or broadband data (for the provision of satellite Internet access to remote locations, VoIP or video). VSATs are also used for transportable, on-themove (utilising phased array antennas) or mobile maritime communications.

 MCQ 7

1. ‘Jan Soochna Portal was launched by ministry of communications for RTI related complaints
2. Rajasthan has now become first state in country to provide information about a dozen departments on a single platform.

Choose correct

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

• It is the first-ever public information portal launched in Rajasthan.
• Aim: To provide information about government authorities and departments suo motu to the public in the true spirit of the Right To Information Act.

 Significance:

• The portal would ensure compliance with Section 4(2) of the RTI Act mandating the public authorities to disclose information in the public domain, so that the people need not file applications under the law to obtain information

MCQ 8

1. India is the largest user of the groundwater in the world with almost 90% being used for drinking water
2. Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) was constituted under subsection

 (3) of Section 3 of the Water Act 1974 for the purposes of regulation and control of ground water development and management in the country

 Choose correct

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

• Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) was constituted under sub-section (3) of Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for the purposes of regulation and control of ground water development and management in the country. The Authority is engaged in various activities related to regulation of ground water development to ensure its long-term sustainability.
• Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), a subordinate office of the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, is the National Apex Agency entrusted with the responsibilities of providing scientific inputs for management, exploration, monitoring, assessment, augmentation and regulation of ground water resources of the country. Central Ground Water Board was established in 1970 by renaming the Exploratory Tube wells Organization under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. It was merged with the Ground Water Wing of the Geological Survey of India during 1972.

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