Daily PIB Analysis For UPSC/IAS | 25th May 19

Table of Contents

MCQ 1
Greater Bay Area recently seen in news is related to which country?

Indonesia
Canada
USA
China

The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. It is one of the most densely urbanized regions in the world, and is often considered as a megacity. It is now the wealthiest region in South China and one of the wealthiest in the whole China along with Yangtze River Delta in East China and Jingjinji in North China.
The region’s economy is referred to as Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, it is also part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.
The PRD is a megalopolis, with future development into a single mega metropolitan area, yet itself is at the southern end of a larger megalopolis running along the southern coast of China, which include metropolises such as Chaoshan, Zhangzhou-Xiamen, QuanzhouPutian and Fuzhou. The nine largest cities of the PRD had a combined population of 57.15 million at the end of 2013, comprising 53.69% of the provincial population.According to the World Bank Group, the PRD has become the largest urban area in the world in both size and population.
The west side of this region, along with Chaoshan, was also the source of much Chinese emigration from the 19th to the mid 20th centuries, including to the Western world, where they formed many Chinatowns. Today, much of the Chinese diaspora in the US, Canada, Australia, Latin America, and much of Southeast Asia traces their ancestry to the west side of this region. Its dominant language is Cantonese.

MCQ 2
Who among the following is considered as the Trinity of Carnatic music

Purandara Dāsa
Tyagaraja
Kanakadasa
Muthuswami Dikshitar
Syama Sastri

Select the correct code:
(A) 1,4,5
(B) 2,4,5
(C) 3,4,5
(D) 1,2,3

The Trinity of Carnatic music, also known as The Three Jewels of Carnatic music, refer to the outstanding trio of composermusicians of Carnatic music in the 18th century, being Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri.

MCQ 3
Olive Ridleys Turtles are naturally found in India in

Andhra Pradesh coast
Odisha coast
Maharashtra coast

Select the correct answer using the codes below.
(A) 2 only
(B) 1 & 2
(C) All
(D) None

Olive Ridley turtle is the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtle found in the world.
It is found in warm waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans.
It commences its journey from Indian Ocean towards Bay of Bengal during their mating season in October and November every year.
The Gahirmatha Beach in Kendrapara district of Odisha (India), which is now a part of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, is the largest breeding ground for these turtles.
Green turtles and olive ridleys are known to nest in Maharashtra in small numbers. Goa has records of three species of sea turtles: olive ridley, leatherback and green turtles.
Recently many of these turtles were found dead near the Andhra Pradesh coast.
The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, are the second smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world; this species of sea turtle is found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They can also be found in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
These turtles, along with the related Kemps ridley turtle, are best known for their unique mass nesting called arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs

MCQ 4
Consider the following statements

He began his career and spent most of his adult life in the court and patronage of the Hindu king of Rewa, Raja Ramchandra Singh
Akbar considered him as a Navaratnas (nine jewels), and gave him the title Mian
He is remembered for his epic Dhrupad compositions, creating several new ragas The above statements refer to:

(A) Amir khusro
(B) Tansen
(C) Ramdas
(D) Swami haridas

Tansen

He was a prominent figure of Hindustani classical music.
He began his career and spent most of his adult life in the court and patronage of the Hindu king of Rewa, Raja Ramchandra Singh(1555–1592), where Tansen’s musical abilities and studies gained widespread fame.
This reputation brought him to the attention of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, who sent messengers to Raja Ramchandra Singh, requesting Tansen to join the musicians at the Mughal court.
Akbar considered him as a Navaratnas (nine jewels), and gave him the title Mian, an honorific, meaning learned man.
Tansen is remembered for his epic Dhrupad compositions, creating several new ragas, as well as for writing two classic books on music Sri Ganesh Stotra and Sangita Sara.
Tansen was a composer, musician and vocalist, to whom a large number of compositions have been attributed in northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. He was also an instrumentalist who popularized and improved musical instruments.
He is among the most influential personalities in North Indian tradition of Indian classical music, called Hindustani. His 16th century studies in music and compositions inspired many, and he is considered by numerous North Indian gharana (regional music schools) as their lineage founder

MCQ 5
Consider the following statements about Government e-Market Place

All Central and State government Ministries/Departments and Central and State Public Sector Units except local bodies can procure goods and services.
One of the main disadvantages of GeM is that there is no Provision of return of goods once procured.
On GeM goods which are Preferential Market Access (PMA) compliant and those manufactured by Small Scale Industries (SSI) are also allowed.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(A) 1 & 2
(B) 1 & 2
(C) 3 only
(D) All

All Central government and State Government Ministries/Departments including its attached/subordinate offices, Central and State autonomous bodies, Central and State Public Sector Units and local bodies etc. are authorized to make procurement through GeM portal.
There is Provision of easy return policy which is an advantage to the buyer.
On GeM, the filters for selecting goods which are Preferential Market Access (PMA) compliant and those manufactured by Small Scale Industries(SSI), enables the Government buyers to procure Make in India and SSI goods very easily.
Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is a one stop portal to facilitate online procurement of common use Goods & Services required by various Government Departments / Organizations / PSUs. GeM aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement. It provides the tools of e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users achieve the best value for their money.
The purchases through GeM by Government users have been authorized and made mandatory by Ministry of Finance by adding a new Rule No. 149 in the General Financial Rules, 2017.
GeM Advantages For Buyers
Offers rich listing of products for individual categories of Goods/Services
Makes available search, compare, select and buy facility
Enables buying Goods and Services online, as and when required.
Provides transparency and ease of buying
Ensures continuous vendor rating system
Up-to-date user-friendly dashboard for buying, monitoring supplies and payments
Provision of easy return policy
GeM Advantages For Sellers
Direct access to all Government departments.
One-stop shop for marketing with minimal efforts
One-stop shop for bids / reverse auction on products / services
New Product Suggestion facility available to Sellers
Dynamic pricing: Price can be changed based on market conditions
Seller friendly dashboard for selling, and monitoring of supplies and payments
Consistent and uniform purchase procedures

MCQ 6
The countries bordering Iran are

Afghanistan
Iraq
Tajikistan
Armenia
Syria

Select the correct code:
(A) 1,2,3
(B) 1,2,4
(C) 2,3,4,5
(D) 1,2,4,5
MCQ 7
Consider the following statements about INS Arihant

INS Arihant is India’s first indigenously-designed, developed and manufactured nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
Its design is based on the Russian Akula-1 class submarine.
It can carry Sagarika and Shaurya Missiles
The deployment of INS Arihant led to the completion of India’s nuclear triad.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(A) 1,2,4
(B) 2,3,4
(C) 2 & 3
(D) 1 & 4

India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant has successfully completed its first deterrence patrol. With this, India completed its survivable nuclear triad by adding maritime strike capability to land and air-based delivery platforms for nuclear weapons.
INS Arihant is India’s first indigenously-designed, developed and manufactured nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
Its design is based on the Russian Akula-1 class submarine. It can carry 12 Sagarika K 15 submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) having range of over 700 km.
The Shaurya missile is a canister launched hypersonic surface-to-surface tactical missile developed by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The Shaurya missile is speculated to be the land version of the underwater Sagarika K-15 missile.
INS Arihant (SSBN 80) (Sanskrit for “Slayer of Enemies”) is the lead ship of India’s Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The 6,000 tonne vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
Arihant was launched on 26 July 2009, the anniversary of Vijay Diwas (Kargil War Victory Day) by then Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh. After fitting out and extensive sea trials, on 23 February 2016, she was confirmed as ready for operations, and was commissioned in August 2016

MCQ 8
Consider the following statements about multi-layered plastics (MLP)

Multi-layered plastics (MLP) are the shiny plastic material which is used to package chips, biscuit and ready-to-eat food products.
MLPs can be recycled and have alternative uses.
The Government of India is looking at phasing out of Multi-layered Plastic (MLP)

Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(A) 1 & 2
(B) 2 & 3
(C) 1 & 3
(D) All

The Environment Ministry in a new notification has amended the rules of plastic waste management, and suggested the phasing-out of multi-layered plastics (MLP), the shiny plastic material which is used to package chips, biscuit and ready-to-eat food products.
MLPs are non-recyclable, non-energy recoverable, and have no alternative uses, and are hence a critical threat to the ecosystem.
Plastic pollution and e-waste which have become a major environmental concern across the globe widely discussed at COP meetings of Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions recently held in Geneva. India has already imposed a complete prohibition of import of solid plastic waste into the country. India has also made an international commitment to phase-out single-use plastic.
The 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Basel Convention (BC COP-14), the 9th meeting of the COP to the Rotterdam Convention (RC COP-9) and the 9th meeting of the COP to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-9) held during 29 April to 10 May 2019, in Geneva, Switzerland. • An Indian delegation of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and comprising other ministries such as Agriculture, Chemicals, and Electronics and Information Technology participated in various meetings.
The theme of the meetings this year was “Clean Planet, Healthy People: Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste”.
Basel Convention : Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (COP 14)
Rotterdam Convention: Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (RC COP-9)
Stockholm Convention: Persistent Organic Pollutants (SC COP-9)

Basel Convention: Important Facts

In Basel Convention, two important issues were discussed and decided, i.e. technical guidelines on ewaste and inclusion of plastic waste in the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure.

Defining Non-Waste

The draft technical guidelines stipulated the conditions when used electrical and electronic equipment destined for direct reuse, repair, refurbishment or failure analysis should be considered as non-waste.
Challenges before India
India had major reservations regarding these provisions as in the name of re-use, repair, refurbishment and failure analysis there was a possibility of dumping from the developed world to the developing countries including India in view of the growing consumption of electronic equipment and waste across the world.
India’s objection on proposed decision
The Indian delegation strongly objected the proposed decision on these guidelines during plenary and did not allow it to be passed by the conference of the parties (COP).
Rounds of discussion: India’s concerns appreciated by the developing countries
Many rounds of multilateral and bilateral negotiations happened under the aegis of the Convention Secretariat in order to address India’s concerns which were supported by a large number of other developing countries.
Incorporation of India’s concerns in modified decision
On the final day of the COP, a modified decision was adopted in which all the concerns raised by India were incorporated.
These were:
Dumping of e-waste in developing countries;
Recognition that the interim guideline has issues and further work is required specially on the provision on distinguishing waste from nonwaste; the guidelines were adopted on an interim basis only;
The tenure of the expert working group was extended to address the concerns raised by India;
The usage of interim guidelines to be done only on a pilot basis.
Defending India’s interest on potential dumping of e-waste
Due to the strong intervention by the Indian delegation, it was possible to defend the country’s interest against the potential dumping of ewaste by developed countries and thereby opened a window for further negotiations and corrections in the interim technical guidelines on e-waste.
Major achievement of COP 14
Under the Basel Convention, another major achievement of COP 14 was the decision to amend the convention to include unsorted, mixed and contaminated plastic waste under PIC (Prior Informed Consent) procedure and improve the regulation of its transboundary movement. This is a significant step taken towards addressing plastic pollution which has become a major environmental concern across the globe.
Prevention of the illegal dumping of plastic wastes
Further, Basel Convention has also adopted partnership on plastic which was welcomed by the Indian delegation. These steps will help prevent the illegal dumping of plastic wastes in developing countries.
India has already imposed a complete prohibition of import of solid plastic waste into the country. India has also made an international commitment to phase-out single-use plastic. India fully supported this exercise and one of the members of the Indian delegation was cochair in the contact group which negotiated this agreement for amendment in the annexes of Basel Convention to bring plastic waste under PIC procedure.