Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 25-09-19

MCQ 1

The ‘Vaccine Hero’ award has been introduced by WHO
Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina for the first time has been conferred with prestigious ‘Vaccine Hero’ award in 2019

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(C) Both
(D) None

Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has been conferred with prestigious ‘Vaccine Hero’ award of Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunizations (GAVI) in recognition of Bangladesh’s outstanding success in vaccination to immunize children. She was conferred the award at a ceremony at United Nations Headquarters in New York on the sidelines of 74th session of UN General Assembly (UNGA).
She was conferred with GAVI’s ‘Vaccine Hero’ award in recognition of country’s outstanding success in vaccination, and especially for her role in eliminating polio, cholera and various communicable diseases. She also hopes to reach the target of ‘vaccines for all’ in Bangladesh well ahead of 2030. Earlier, Bangladesh has been honoured with GAVI Alliance Awards in 2009 and 2012 for its outstanding performance in improving child immunization status.
As of now, dedicated vaccine centres, and more than 18,000 community clinics and union health centres are providing vaccination services across Bangladesh.
The ‘Vaccine Hero’ award has been introduced by Geneva-based global vaccine alliance (GAVI). It recognises global figures and leaders whose dedication to Vaccine Alliance’s mission has played a key role in helping GAVI and its partners to protect millions of children across all across the world. The award is conferred on those who have set out a clear ambition and displayed urgency in providing life saving vaccines to children at the same time ensuring that no child is left out.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) is an international organization that was created in 2000. It a global health partnership of public and private sector organizations with shared goal of- ‘immunisation for all’ and creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in world’s poorest countries.

MCQ 2

Section 35A of the Banking Regulation act enables RBI with the power to take action in order to prevent a banking company acting detrimental to the interests of the depositors.
The banks that are accounted in the 1 st schedule of RBI act, 1934 are called scheduled banks.

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The Reserve Bank of India has imposed caps on withdrawals made by customers of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Banks for 6 months. The imposition was invoked by the central bank under Section 35 A of India’s Banking Regulation act, 1949.
PMC is spread across 6 states and has a network of 137 branches.
What are the restrictions imposed? During the period of restriction, the customers of PMC bank are not allowed to withdraw more than Rs 1,000. RBI has also imposed restrictions on lending by cooperative bank. The notification issued by RBI said that the PMC banks cannot grant or renew loans, make investment, borrow funds, accept fresh deposits, agree or disburse payments without prior permission from the central bank. The bank said that the restrictions will be eased according to the performance of PMC banks. However, the bank license had not been withdrawn.
Why were the restrictions imposed? The restrictions were a precautionary measure to prevent a run on the bank. The gross bad loans of the bank account to 3.76% of its advances and PMC discloses it is much higher than this. Also, these restrictions are precautionary measures while the central bank completes its audit on PMC. Though auditing of cooperative banks are done by state government, RBI has power to audit cooperative banks once a year. The bank reported profit of 99 crores in 2019 as compared to 100 crores in 2018. Similarly the NPAs of the bank increased largely. It was 1.05% in 2018 and increased to 2.19% in 2019. The capital adequacy ratio was 12.29% in 2018 and increased to 12.62% in 2019. Capital Adequacy ratio is the measurement of bank’s available capital in terms of percentage of bank’s risk – weighted credit exposures. It is calculated by dividing the bank’s capital by its risk weighted assets.
What is Section 35 A of India’s Banking Regulation act, 1949? Section 35A of the Banking Regulation act provides powers to RBI to give directions to banks. It enables RBI with the power to take action in order to prevent a banking company acting detrimental to the interests of the depositors.
PMC is a scheduled bank. It was provided the status of scheduled bank in 2000. The banks that are accounted in the second schedule of RBI act, 1934 are called scheduled banks. • The banks with reserve capital more than 5 lakhs rupees are qualified to become scheduled banks. The banks should also satisfy RBI that its affairs are carried out in a way with no harm to the interest of the depositors.

MCQ 3

Recently in news a Building 8 initiative was about

Methane emissions technology
Code for urban building
Mars colonization
None

On 23rd September, 2019, Facebook announced that it will acquire CTRL – Labs, a tech company that makes wrist bands capable of reading minds.
The band can transmit electrical signals from brain into computers as digital input. The deal is worth approximately, from 500 million USD to 1 billion USD.
This is the most substantial acquisition of Facebook after its acquisition of virtual reality company Occulus on a deal of 2 billion USD in 2014.
CTRL – Labs was founded by Patrick Kaifosh, a neuro scientist and Internet Explorer creator Thomas Reardon.
What is CTRL – Labs? CTRL – labs is a start up looking to guide computers with the help of brain signals without using hands.
The lab is working on brain science, machine learning and intends to create interfaces for people to control and manipulate the digital gadgets just by thinking.
What is CTRL – Labs’s wrist band? The flagship product of CTRL – labs is a wrist worn device. It measures neuron activity in the brain and imitates the same motion on computer screen. This device does not read minds. However, it is capable of acquiring signals from brain and electrical impulses that come from muscle cells. In lay man terms the company says that one need not move his hand to move the hand on the screen. He just has to think about moving his arms.
Why is Facebook acquiring CTRL labs? The acquisition eludes the company’s Building 8 initiative.
Building 8 is a secretive research group. Regina Dugan, the leader of Building 8 announced it in 2017. Under the initiative Facebook had been working on non – invasive sensors that will help people communicate. The goal of the initiative is to let users type 100 words a minute using their minds alone. But not everything wandering in the brain, only specific information that it intends to convey. Under Building 8 initiative, Facebook also plans to create sensors that allows users hear using vibrations on skin. Apart from Building 8 initiative Facebook also wants to build new ways to interact with computers. Bottom line, Facebook is on the verge of integrating online and offline lives. How does the band work? The band leverages EMG to translate mental thought processes into action. EMG is Electrodiagnostic medicine technique to record and evaluate electrical activity in skeletal muscles. The band contains 16 electrodes to monitor electrical signals from motor neuron. The device detects the firing of a neuron at its axon which is called action potential. This puts the device above other wearable devices as they use EEG to measure electrical activity of the brain.

MCQ 4

Dadasaheb Phalke played the role of Raja Harischandra (1913)in this India’s first feature film.
Prithviraj kapoor was the 1st recipient of Dadasaheb phalke award

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It is country’s highest film honour. It was introduced by government in 1969. The award was founded to commemorate ‘father of Indian cinema’, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke. He directed Raja Harischandra (1913), India’s first feature film.
In 2018, at 65th National Awards, Vinod Khanna was posthumously honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2017 for his priceless contribution to cinema.
First Recipient: Devika Rani, ‘the first lady of Indian cinema’. Prize: Award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus), a shawl and a cash prize of Rs.10 Lakh.
About Amitabh Bachchan He made his debut in 1969 with film ‘Saat Hindustani’. For past five decades he is one of the most influential figures in Indian cinema. Awards: He has also been honoured with Padma Shri (1984), Padma Bhushan (2001) and Padma Vibhushan (2015). In 2007, the French Government conferred upon him with France’s highest civilian honour- ‘the Knight of the Legion of Honour’, for his exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond. He has also been conferred with 4 national awards and 15 filmfare trophies.

MCQ 5

The ________ government has launched country’s first ‘Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)’ which is being described as world’s first market for trading in Particulate Matter (PM) emissions. ETS was launched in _______to encourage and incentivize the industrial units to cut air pollution.

Gujrat, Ahemdabad
Maharashtra, Pune
UP, Kanpur
None

The Gujarat government has launched country’s first ‘Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)’ which is being described as world’s first market for trading in Particulate Matter (PM) emissions.
ETS was launched in Surat to encourage and incentivize the industrial units to cut air pollution.
Even though trading mechanisms for pollution control do exist in many parts of world but none of them is for PM emissions.
What is Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)? It is a regulatory tool that is aimed at reducing the pollution load in an area and at the same time minimizing the cost of compliance for the industry.
ETS is a market in which traded commodity is particulate matter emissions.
The Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) sets a cap on total emission load from all industries. Thereby, various industries can buy and sell the ability to emit particulate matter, by trading permits (in kilograms) under this cap and for this reason ETS is also called as a cap-and-trade market.
Functioning of ETS: Under the cap-and-trade market, the GPCB will first define the total mass of pollution that can be released into air over a certain fixed period by all industrial units or factories collectively. This will be equivalent to the cap (or limit) and the permits would then become units which could be bought and sold between traders under the ETS.
Why launched in Surat? Since Surat is a densely-populated industrial centre and textiles and dyeing houses there produce heavy air pollution. Also, industries in Surat had already installed Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems that makes it possible to estimate the mass of PM being released.

MCQ 6

The Paris agreement went into effect on 4 November 2015.
The agreement stated that it would enter into force (and thus become fully effective) only if 55 countries that produce at least 55% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions ratify, accept, approve or accede to the agreement.

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The Paris Agreement was opened for signature on 22 April 2016 (Earth Day) at a ceremony in New York. After several European Union states ratified the agreement in October 2016, there were enough countries that had ratified the agreement that produce enough of the world’s greenhouse gases for the agreement to enter into force.
The agreement went into effect on 4 November 2016
The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, signed in 2016. The agreement’s language was negotiated by representatives of 196 state parties at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Le Bourget, near Paris, France, and adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015.
As of March 2019, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, and 186 have become party to it. The Paris Agreement’s long-term goal is to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels; and to limit the increase to 1.5 °C, since this would substantially reduce the risks and effects of climate change.
Under the Paris Agreement, each country must determine, plan, and regularly report on the contribution that it undertakes to mitigate global warming. No mechanism forces a country to set a specific target by a specific date, but each target should go beyond previously set targets.
In June 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the agreement. Under the agreement, the earliest effective date of withdrawal for the U.S. is November 2020, shortly before the end of President Trump’s current term. In practice, changes in United States policy that are contrary to the Paris Agreement have already been put in place.
In July 2017 French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot announced a plan to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles in France by 2040 as part of the Paris Agreement. Hulot also stated that France would no longer use coal to produce electricity after 2022 and that up to €4 billion will be invested in boosting energy efficiency. To reach the agreement’s emission targets, Norway will ban the sale of petrol and diesel-powered cars by 2025; the Netherlands will do the same by 2030. Electric trains running on the Dutch national rail network are already entirely powered by wind energy. The House of Representatives of the Netherlands passed a bill in June 2018 mandating that by 2050 the Netherlands will cut its 1990 greenhouse-gas emissions level by 95 percent—exceeding the Paris Agreement goals
Russia has formally accepted the 2015 Paris agreement on Climate Change. The Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev has recently signed a document in this regard. As per the document Russia will now allocate financial resources towards developing countries for prevention of and adaptation to climate change.
Russia is world’s fourth largest emitter. Russia had signed the Paris accord in 2016, however, the recent decision to ‘accept’ the accord signifies Russia’s consent to obligations under Paris Agreement.
As of now there are 11 countries which are yet to formally ratify Paris Agreement.
These are: Iran, Oman, Yemen, Angola, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, South Sudan, Suriname, and Eritrea.

MCQ 7

Ponung Doming is related to

Tennis
Badminton
Boxing
Indian Army

Ponung Doming is the first lady officer from Arunachal Pradesh in the Indian army to be elevated to the rank of Lieutenant colonel.
She was commissioned into the Indian army as Lieutenant in 2008. She is currently posted in Pune, Maharashtra.
Doming had completed her graduation in civil engineering. She served the UN Peace keeping force in Congo in 2014. Women in Indian Armed forces Women in armed forces were recruited only in the officer’s rank till 2018.
The Indian army for the first time issued notification in 2019 inviting female applicants for the position of Soldier General Duty, personnel below officer rank.
There are around 3.8% of women officers in the army. Navy has 6% of women officers and air force has 13% of women officers.
Punita Arora was the first woman officer to become Lieutenant General in the Indian armed forces. She had won 15 medals in her 36 years of services in the Indian armed forces. She was from Punjab.
In India, females are not allowed to serve in combat units like armored corps, infantry and Mechanised infantry.
The role of women in Indian army began in 1888 when the British Raj began Indian Military Nursing Service.
It was only in 1992, the Indian army began inducting women in non – medical roles.
Later in 2007, the UN first all female peace keeping force was deployed to Liberia by India. This was first of its kind not only in India but through out the world!

MCQ 8

On September 24, 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 6th India water week at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi
The event is organized by NITI Aayog

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(C) Both
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On September 24, 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 6th India water week at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
The Theme of the week: “Water Cooperation – Coping with 21st Century Challenges”.
The event is organized by Ministry of Jal Shakti.
About India Water Week India Water Week (IWW) 2019 will focus on future challenges. This is based on the hypothetical prediction that the likelihood of conflicts due to water related issues might increase as population in the 21st century continues to grow. Hence water cooperation becomes vital.
The event will also focus on issues like water scarcity, water for food security, development of inland water ways, cleaning river Ganga, etc. During the week international conferences are to be held on international and regional cooperation in water management. The event will also exhibit technologies and latest solutions supporting the theme. The event is being organized since 2012.
It had been organized 5 times since then in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017.
In 2017, India partnered with the European Union as international partner. Need for the event According to WHO 785 million people do not have access to basic drinking water in the world. According to NITI Aayog, in India around 2 lakh people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water.

MCQ 9

Arrange north to south on Map

1.Dubai
2.Muscat
3.Pune
4.Delhi

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