Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 18-08-19 | Free PDF

MCQ 1

1. “Withholding Tax” is not allowed in India
2. It is levied on Indian residents/investors only

 Choose correct

(A)Only 1
(B)Only 2
(C)Both
 (D)None

MCQ 2

1. In India fully only capital account convertibility is allowed.
2. It was done on the recommendations of SS Tarapore committee in 1997 & 2006.

Choose correct

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

MCQ 3

1. Amalgamation does not create a new entity
2. Recently BMB & SBI associated banks were amalgamated in SBI

 Choose correct

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

MCQ 4

 Conditions for Payments banks are

1. They must have a minimum capital of 500 cr.
2. 10 lakhs rupee cap on deposits in one account
3. Can accept NRI deposits
4. Can extend loans to priority sector

 Choose correct

(A) 1,2,3
(B) 2,3,4
(C) 4 only
 (D) None

MCQ 5

 Conditions for Small Finance Bank are

1. They must have a minimum paid-up capital of 500 cr.
2. Must have 50% branches in unbanked areas
3. Can’t undertake financial services like Mutual funds, insurance products, pension products
4. They are established after acquiring differentiated banks licensing

Choose correct

(A) 1,2,4
(B) 1 & 4
 (C) Only 4
(D) None

MCQ 6

1. Geographical Indications protection is granted through the GATT.
2. It is valid for a period of 50 years following which it can be renewed.
3. Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (GI Act) is an act for protection of GI in India.

 Choose correct

(A) Only 1
(B) 1 & 3
(C) Only 3
(D) All

All Geographical Indications Tag

• It is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation of that origin.
• It conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness which is attributable to the specific geographical locality.
• It is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.
• Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (GI Act) is an act for protection of GI in India.
• India, as a member of the WTO enacted the Act to comply with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
• Geographical Indications protection is granted through the TRIPS.

MCQ 7

1. In India TFR data is taken from the Sample Registration System (SRS) undertaken by the Ministry of health
2. The latest SRS estimates (2017) show the TFR dropping to 2.5.
3. J&K has a TFR of 3.0

Choose correct

(A) Only 1
(B) 1 & 3
(C) All
 (D)None

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
• TFR, defined as the number of children born to a woman until the end of her child-bearing age.
• It is a key indicator for population trends.
• India is expected to soon overtake China as the world’s most populous country.
• The TFR has been falling almost everywhere in India
• The graph is based on TFR data from the Sample Registration System (SRS) undertaken by the Office of the Registrar General.
• SRS estimates provide dynamic trends underlying the population growth.
• For the four successive years (2013-2016) the TFR stagnated at 2.3 births per woman of child-bearing age.
• The latest SRS estimates (2017) show the TFR dropping to 2.2.
• This figure is only marginally higher than the fertility rate (2.1) required for replacement of the existing population.
• Even the states that have a higher TFR, UP(3.0), Bihar(3.2), MP(2.7), Rajasthan(2.6), Assam(2.3), Jharkhand(2.5) have been witnessing a declining trend in fertility rates.
• Gujarat and Haryana, recorded a TFR of 2.2, which is above the replacement rate but is equal to the national average.
• These 9 major states account for 52% of the 2011 population.
• States with a lower TFR include,
• Kerala (1.7),
• Tamil Nadu (1.6),
• Karnataka (1.7),
• Maharashtra (1.7),
• Andhra Pradesh (1.6),
• Jammu and Kashmir (1.6).
• The replacement level in these states is either 2.1 or has gone below it.

MCQ 8

Nepal has proposed to tighten regulations after a deadly season.It is set to to address deadly human traffic jams on Mount Everest and to weed out inexperienced climbers. New proposals are

1. Should first have to demonstrate that they are experienced mountaineers.
2. Must already have climbed a Nepali peak of at least 4,500m.
3. They have removed fee for Mt. Everest & other mountain climbing

(A) 1 & 2
(B) 1 & 3
(C) Only 1
(D) All

• Everest climbers set to face new rules
• Nepal has proposed to tighten regulations after a deadly season.
• It is set to to address deadly human traffic jams on Mount Everest and to weed out inexperienced climbers.
• A panel advising Nepal’s government has recommended that the applicants,
• Should first have to demonstrate that they are experienced mountaineers.
• Must already have climbed a Nepali peak of at least 6,500m.
• Should provide a certificate of physical fitness, and employ experienced guides.
• The committee also proposed a fee of at least $35,000 for Everest and $20,000 for other mountains over 8,000m.
• Climbers to Sagarmatha and other 8,000m mountains must undergo basic and high altitude climbing training,
• Nepal is home to 8 of the world’s 14 highest mountains, and mountain climbing is a key source of employment and income.

MCQ 9

1. NFU is India’s commitment to not be the first to use a nuclear weapon in a conflict, doctrine adopted from 1 st experiment in 1974.
2. India would not use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states. 3. No other country has declared their NFU policy

 Choose correct

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

• India first adopted a “No first use” policy after its second nuclear tests, Pokhran-II, in 1998. In August 1999, the Indian government released a draft of the doctrine which asserts that nuclear weapons are solely for deterrence and that India will pursue a policy of “retaliation only”. The document also maintains that India “will not be the first to initiate a nuclear first strike, but will respond with punitive retaliation should deterrence fail” and that decisions to authorise the use of nuclear weapons would be made by the Prime Minister or his ‘designated successor(s)’. According to the National Research Development Corporation, despite the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan in 2001–2002, India remained committed to its nuclear no-first-use policy. India is in the process of developing a nuclear doctrine based on “credible minimum deterrence”.
• In a speech at the National Defence College on October 21, 2010 by India’s then National Security Advisor, Shivshankar Menon, the wording was changed from “no first use” to “no first use against nonnuclear weapon states”,[15] although some argued that this was not a substantive change but “an innocent typographical or lexical error in the text of the speech.”India’s current PM Modi has in the run up to the recent general elections reiterated commitment to no first use policy. In April 2013, Shyam Saran, convener of the National Security Advisory Board, affirmed that regardless of the size of a nuclear attack against India, be it a tactical nuclear weapon or a strategic nuclear weapon, India will retaliate massively. This was in response to reports that Pakistan had developed a tactical battlefield nuclear weapon, in an attempt to supposedly nullify an Indian “no first use” retaliatory doctrine. On 10 November 2016, the Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar questioned the no first use policy of India, saying why should India “bind” itself when it is a “responsible nuclear power”. Later he clarified that this was his personal opinion.
• Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking on the death anniversary of former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee on 16 August 2019, said that in future India’s no first use policy might change depending upon the “circumstances”. PM Vajpayee’s government conducted the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998
• On January 4, 2003, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) constituted the Political Council and the Executive Council of the NCA. The Executive Council gives its opinion to the Political Council, which authorises a nuclear attack when deemed necessary. While the Executive Council is chaired by the National Security Advisor (NSA), the Political Council is chaired by the Prime Minister. This mechanism was implemented to ensure that Indian nukes remain firmly in civilian control and that there exists a sophisticated Command and Control (C2) mechanism to prevent their accidental or unauthorised use
• China became the first nation to propose and pledge NFU policy when it first gained nuclear capabilities in 1964, stating “not to be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time or under any circumstances”. During the Cold War, China decided to keep the size of its nuclear arsenal small rather than compete in an international arms race with the United States and the Soviet Union.
• China has repeatedly re-affirmed its no-first-use policy in recent years, doing so in 2005, 2008, 2009 and again in 2011. China has also consistently called on the United States to adopt a no-first-use policy, to reach an NFU agreement bilaterally with China, and to conclude an NFU agreement among the five nuclear weapon states. The United States has repeatedly refused these calls
• Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France say they will use nuclear weapons against either nuclear or non-nuclear states only in the case of invasion or other attack against their territory or against one of their allies. Historically, NATO military strategy, taking into account the numerical superiority of Warsaw Pact conventional forces, assumed that the use of tactical nuclear weapons would have been required in defeating a Soviet invasion.
• At the 16th NATO summit in April 1999, Germany proposed that NATO adopt a no-first-use policy, but the proposal was rejected

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