Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 25-11-19 | Free PDF

MCQ 1
 Operation Muskaan is related to

1. Minority students skilling
2. One sop centre for female victims of violence
3. National Mission for dental health
4. None

• Operation Smile also called as Operation MUSKAAN is an initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to rescue/rehabilitate missing children. It is a dedicated campaign for a month where several activities are taken up by the State Police personnel to trace and rescue the missing children and reunite them with their families.
• The “Operation MUSKAAN -III” was taken up during July, 2017 throughout the country as a follow up of the earlier campaigns to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children.
• Operation Smile – the beginning
• The present Union government’s initiative is based on a successful operation titled “Operation Smile” taken up by the Ghaziabad Police, Uttar Pradesh during September 2014. As part of the operation, 227 missing children of Ghaziabad were rescued from different parts of the country in just one month.
• Salient points of Operation Smile
• Approximately 100 plus Police officers of various ranks were sensitized and trained about the issues related to missing children Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) JJ Act, Protection of Child Right Act, relevant sections of Cr.PC & IPC and Advisories issued by MHA etc.
• The trained officers visited various parts of the country to recover missing children in connection with various FIRs lodged at police stations in Ghaziabad
• One of the major findings was that children residing in shelter homes, on railway platforms, at bus stands and religious places and on the roads, etc. were part of the missing children.
• Support of print and electronic media were also used to share the information of missing children. Police personnel from respective places as well as parents approached the Ghaziabad police for taking the children back.
• Activities taken up as part of Operation Smile
• All children residing in shelter homes, platforms, bus stands, roads, religious places, etc. are to be screened by trained police personnel.
• Before the operation, the Police personnel from each State are properly trained in methodology to extract information from such children tactfully without they getting intimidated, as well as in various provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) JJ Act, Protection of Child Right Act, relevant sections of Cr.PC & IPC and Advisories issued by MHA etc.
• To know the magnitude of the problem, data with full details of number of cases of missing children will be maintained and shared at intra-State and Inter-state level. Information about Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) would be prepared and shared among all rescue teams and stakeholders.
• During the operation, the particulars of such identified children will be uploaded on the ‘Missing child’ portal of the Ministry of Women and Child Development by the respective State Police.
• Rehabilitation measures whenever needed are to be taken up in coordination with the other line Departments like Department of Women & Child Development, Police, Labour, etc so that scope of re-victimization is eliminated.
• Public awareness to be increased by way of national campaign, advertisement on national media, etc.

MCQ 2

1. India & US both are expected to sign the Industrial Security Annex (ISA)
2. The ISA is part of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which India had signed with the U.S. many years ago.

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

• Industrial Security Annex
• The 2+2 dialogue between India and the U.S. is going to be held in Washington, D.C.
• During the dialogue, both countries are expected to sign the Industrial Security Annex (ISA) and review the steps to operationalize the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA).
• The ISA is part of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which India had signed with the U.S. many years ago.
• It will allow the transfer of defence technology
• It is crucial for U.S. companies bidding for big-ticket Indian deals to partner Indian private companies.
• It would be the first time India has entered into such a pact with any country, although the United States has such agreements in place with several countries.
• But the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA), which is under discussion, is unlikely to be concluded in the upcoming dialogue.

 MCQ 3

1. The Government has approved a central sector Scheme for setting up of need based Plastic Parks, with requisite state-of-the-art infrastructure and enabling common facilities.
2. These plastic parks are being developed by State Governments with the support of ministry of new and renewable energy

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

Plastic Parks

• A plastic park is an industrial zone devoted to plastic enterprises and its allies’ industries.
• It includes a whole range of companies required by the plastics processing community such as a) Material and machinery suppliers, b) Plastics processing companies, c) Plastic recycling companies including waste management system.
• These plastic parks are being developed by State Governments with the support of Department of Chemicals & Petrochemical of Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
• The government has approved setting up of 6 plastic parks in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.
• Under the scheme, the government provides grant funding up to 50 per cent of the project cost.
• The remaining project cost is to be funded by State Government beneficiary industries and by a loan from financial institutions.
• The Government has approved a Scheme for setting up of need based Plastic Parks, with requisite state-of-the-art infrastructure and enabling common facilities, to assist the sector move up the value chain and contribute to the economy more effectively.
• Under the scheme, Government of India provides grant funding up to 50% of the project cost, subject to a ceiling of Rs.40 crore per project.
• Proposals for setting up of Plastic Parks in Assam (Tinsukia district), Odisha (Siju village, Kujanga tehsil, Jagatsinghpur district) and Madhya Pradesh ((Tamot village, Gohargunj tehsil, Raisen district) have received final approval, whereas the proposal for a Plastic Park in Tamil Nadu (Voyalur village, Ponneri Taluk, Thiruvallur district) has been given ‘in principle’ approval. The objectives of the scheme, inter-alia, are to increase competitiveness and investments, achieve environmentally sustainable growth and adopt the cluster development approach to consolidate the capacities in plastic sector. The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has released first instalment of Rs.8 crore of grant-in—aid for setting-up of Plastic Parks at Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Assam in the year 2013-14. Detailed Project Report for setting-up of a Plastic Park in Tamil Nadu is awaited from the State Government. Further, the setting up of six additional plastic parks has been approved by the Competent Authority. Implementation of the scheme for setting up of Plastic Parks in an area is based on proposals received from the State Governments, in accordance with the approved scheme guidelines.

MCQ 4

1. Normal Rice is naturally low in the pigment beta-carotene, which the body uses to make Vitamin A.
2. India could be on the verge of becoming the first country to approve plantation of Golden rice variety.

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

Golden Rice

• In the late 1990s, German scientists developed a genetically modified variety of rice called Golden Rice.
• It was claimed to be able to fight Vitamin A deficiency, which is the leading cause of blindness among children and can also lead to death due to infectious diseases such as measles.
• Rice is naturally low in the pigment beta-carotene, which the body uses to make Vitamin A.
• Golden rice contains this, which is the reason for its golden colour.
• Now, Bangladesh could be on the verge of becoming the first country to approve plantation of this variety.
• In Bangladesh, over 21 per cent of the children have vitamin A deficiency.
• The Golden Rice that is being reviewed in Bangladesh is developed by the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute. Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer, the inventors of Golden Rice, in front of the first field trials carried out at Louisiana State University in 2004 Golden Rice is the first purposefully created biofortified food. Biofortified foods are increasingly being used to address global health issues. And are recommended as standard by the World Bank. Golden Rice, a source of vitamin A, is an additional intervention, and a disruptive technology, for use against vitamin A deficiency, a major public health issue and the most significant cause of child mortality and blindness globally.

MCQ 5

1. While turtles are more or less dependent on water, tortoises are completely terrestrial.
2. cane turtle, is a rare turtle from the Western Ghats of India which is critically endangered.

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

• The Cochin forest cane turtle (Vijayachelys silvatica), also known as Kavalai forest turtle, forest cane turtle or simply cane turtle, is a rare turtle from the Western Ghats of India.
• Described in 1912, its type locality is given as “Near Kavalai in the Cochin State Forests, inhabiting dense forest, at an elevation of about 1500 feet above sea level”.
• Only two specimens were found at that time, and no scientist saw this turtle in the next 70 years. It was finally rediscovered in 1982, and since then a number of specimens have been found and some studies have been conducted about its affiliation and habits.
• Like its relatives, it belongs to the subfamily Geoemydinae of the family Geoemydidae, formerly known as Bataguridae. It was once placed in the genus Geoemyda and subsequently moved to Heosemys. But as it seems, the Cochin forest cane turtle forms a quite distinct lineage closely related to Melanochelys.
• Thus, nowadays it is recognized as a monotypic genus, named Vijayachelys in honor of the famous Indian herpetologist Jagannathan Vijaya (1959–1987) who rediscovered this species in 1982 and until her death extensively studied it. A diagnosis of the osteology of Vijayachelys was published in 2006

Cane Turtle

• While turtles are more or less dependent on water, tortoises are completely terrestrial.
• Cane Turtle is an anomaly. It scuttles through the forest and adopts a land-based lifestyle among leaves.
• Although the shape of its legs and webbed feet are reminiscent of its aquatic relatives, it doesn’t like water and stays clear of streams.
• When scared, it dives under dry leaves as if it were plunging into a pond or brook.
• They are endemic to the evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of the Western Ghats of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• They are omnivorous and feed on fruits, leaves, arthropods, and molluscs.
• Males have a darker pink or scarlet colouring compared to females, besides also being smaller in size.
• The 10-cm-long turtle blended in colour and shape with the dry leaves that clothed the forest floor.
• Rainforests don’t undergo a distinct winter season, but the turtle puts its life on hold for six months after the Northeast monsoon recedes.
• Its IUCN Status is Endangered.

MCQ 6

1. India, as part of the global initiative, has targeted elimination of measles and control of rubella by 2025
2. India currently gives a measles rubella vaccine in its universal immunization programme to tackle both measles and rubella.

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

Measles

• Measles is a highly infectious acute viral illness that can lead to severe complications, such as pneumonia, encephalitis and death.
• Children younger than five years who get infected with measles have higher rates of complications, hospitalization and even death.
• The disease is preventable through two doses of a safe and effective vaccine.
• Babies are protected against measles through maternal antibodies for the first six months based on studies carried out in measles-endemic settings.
• A recent study has shown that maternal antibodies against measles does not protect infants for the first 6 months of age.
• It shows that antibodies from the mother almost disappear by the end of three months. • Hence, infants become susceptible to measles infection at the end of three months and not six months as earlier thought.
• Currently, as per WHO recommendations, children in India are vaccinated only at 9-12 months, leaving them open to infection.
• India currently gives a measles rubella vaccine in its universal immunization programme to tackle both measles and rubella.
• India, as part of the global initiative, has targeted elimination of measles and control of rubella by 2020.
• The Mission Indradhanush aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against vaccine preventable diseases. India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) provide free vaccines against 12 life threatening diseases, to 26 million children annually.
• The Universal Immunization Programme provides life-saving vaccines to all children across the country free of cost to protect them against Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pneumonia and Meningitis due to Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib), Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Rotavirus diarrhoea. (Rubella, JE and Rotavirus vaccine in select states and districts).

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