Daily Current Affairs Prelims Quiz 28-07-2021 - (Online Prelims Test)
1) Consider the following statements with respect to Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021
The bill which replaces the Lighthouse Act, 1927 applies to the whole of India including territorial waters, continental shelf, and exclusive economic zone.
The Bill provides that no person shall be allowed to operate on any aid to navigation or any vessel traffic service in any place unless he holds a valid training certificate.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Indian Parliament has recently passed the landmark ‘Marine Aids to Navigation Bill 2021.
The Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021
It repeals the Lighthouse Act, 1927, which provides for the maintenance and control of lighthouses in India.
The Bill seeks to provide a framework for the development, maintenance, and management of aids to navigation in India.
Key features of the Bill include:
The Bill applies to the whole of India including various maritime zones including territorial waters, continental shelf, and exclusive economic zone.
The Bill provides that the central government will appoint a Director General and she/he will advise the central government on matters related to aids to navigation, among others.
The Bill provides that no person shall be allowed to operate on any aid to navigation (including any ancillary activities), or any vessel traffic service in any place unless he holds a valid training certificate.
The central government may designate any aid to navigation under its control as a heritage lighthouse.
In addition to their function as aids to navigation, such lighthouses will be developed for educational, cultural, and tourism purposes.
2) Which of the following languages are not listed under the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution?
Bodo
Khasi
Dogri
English
Rajasthani
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
There have been demands from time to time for inclusion of Khasi in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
As the evolution of dialects and languages is a dynamic process, influenced by socio-cultural, economic and political developments, it is difficult to fix any criteria for languages, whether to distinguish them from dialects, or for their inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
The earlier attempts, through the Pahwa (1996) and Sitakant Mohapatra (2003) Committees, to evolve such fixed criteria have been inconclusive.
3) Consider the following statements with respect to Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021
Under the bill, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a counter-terrorism agency, has been made the nodal investigative agency for trafficking crimes.
The Bill proposed a provision of separate protection and rehabilitation homes for transgender.
Under the bill, consent of the victim shall be irrelevant and immaterial in determination of the offence of trafficking in persons.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
There has been considerable debate over the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021, which is likely to be introduced in the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament.
Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021
The objective of the bill is to prevent and counter trafficking in persons, especially women and children, to provide for care, protection, and rehabilitation to the victims, while respecting their rights, and creating a supportive legal, economic and social environment for them.
The National Investigation Agency, a counter-terrorism agency, has been made the nodal investigative agency for trafficking crimes.
The Bill also states that the consent of the victim could be immaterial, leading to concerns that it would criminalise consensual adult sex work.
Other concerns raised include draconian penal provisions, including death for some offences, and a heavy-handed approach that does not adequately address the root cause of trafficking - poverty.
4) With respect to Nauka, sometimes seen in the news recently, consider the following statements:
It is the biggest space laboratory and primary research facility of China.
It is a part of Harmony of the Heaven, the core module of Tiangong Space Station.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos had recently launched the Nauka module.
Nauka was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan using a Proton rocket, is scheduled to be integrated with the ISS.
Pirs, a Russian module on the International Space Station (ISS) used as a docking port for spacecraft and as a door for cosmonauts to go out on spacewalks.
It was detached recently and in its place, Nauka will serve as the country’s main research facility on the space station.
Nauka — meaning “science” in Russian — is the biggest space laboratory Russia has launched to date, and will primarily serve as a research facility.
It is also bringing to the ISS another oxygen generator, a spare bed, another toilet, and a robotic cargo crane built by the European Space Agency (ESA).
The ISS is a pathbreaking collaborative effort between five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada).
5) Consider the following statements about Dholavira
It is the second largest metropolis of IVC.
Graves in Dholavira have no mortal remains of humans.
The decline of Dholavira also coincided with the collapse of Mesopotamia.
Which of the above statement(s) is/are true?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
After Mohen-jo-Daro, Ganweriwala and Harappa in Pakistan and Rakhigarhi in Haryana of India, Dholavira is the 5th largest metropolis of IVC.
The site has a fortified citadel, a middle town and a lower town with walls made of sandstone or limestone instead of mud bricks in many other Harappan sites.
While unlike graves at other IVC sites, no mortal remains of humans have been discovered at Dholavira.
The memorials that contain no bones or ashes but offerings of precious stones, etc. add a new dimension to the personality of the Harappans.
The beads peculiar to the Harappan workmanship have been found in the royal graves of Mesopotamia, indicating Dholavira used to trade with the Mesopotamians.
Its decline also coincided with the collapse of Mesopotamia, indicating the integration of economies.
Harappans, who were maritime people, lost a huge market, affecting the local mining, manufacturing, marketing and export businesses once Mesopotamia fell.
6) Consider the following statements with respective to Hill Area Development Program
It was launched during the Fifth Five Year Plan (area based planning), which modified Gadgil formula for central assistance to states.
Temperate Gene pool garden was established under the program in Sikkim.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Hill Area Development Program
Hill Area Development Program also focused on socio-economic development of tribal communities along with conservation of soil and water resources.
Hill Area Development Program focuses on people’s participation especially women with following objectives:
Eco-restoration
Eco-development
Eco-preservation
As per Gadgil formula, special central assistance needs to be given to certain areas which need more financial support due to their backward situation.
The financial assistance will constitute 90% assistance by Central government and 10% by State Government.
Gudalur Tropical Gene Pool Garden (Tamil Nadu) is an example of participatory forest management (PFM).
It was established in 1989 under hill area development programme in the gudalur forest division, Nilgiris districts of Tamil Nadu.
Gadgil Formula
The Gadgil formula was formulated with the formulation of the third five-year plan for the distribution of plan transfers amongst the states.
The National Development Council (NDC) approved the following formula:
1. Special Category states like Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland were given preference. Their needs should first be met out of the total pool of Central assistance.
2. The remaining balance of the Central assistance should be distributed among the remaining states on the basis of the following criteria:
60 per cent on the basis of population;
7.5 per cent on the basis of tax effort, determined on the basis of individual State's per capita tax receipts as percentage of the State's per capita income;
25 per cent on the basis of per capita state income, assistance going only to States whose per capita incomes are below the national average;
7.5 per cent for special problems of individual states.
7) Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct with respect to Anthraquinone
It is a naturally occurring pollutant or a hydrocarbon and not a pesticide.
It is known as a bird repellent used in paint textile and paper industries.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Anthraquinone
It is ubiquitous in the environment, it has been naturally detected in the air, water, soil, plants, fish / seafood and animal tissue
Anthraquinone is used in the manufacture of dyes, in the textile and pulp industries, and as a bird repellant.
India has raised concerns at a WTO meeting regarding European Union's decision to classify anthraquinone as a pesticide (found in tea) and labelling it as a non-tariff barrier
8) Consider the following statements with respective to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment Bill)
It introduced an alternate insolvency resolution process for MSMEs called the Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution Process (PIRP).
Distressed Corporate Debtors (CDs) are permitted to initiate a PIRP with the approval of two-thirds of their creditors.
The PIRP allows for a Swiss challenge to the resolution plan submitted in case operational creditors are not paid 100 % of their outstanding dues.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment Bill)
It introduced an alternate insolvency resolution process for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with defaults up to Rs 1 crore called the Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution Process (PIRP).
Distressed Corporate Debtors (CDs) are permitted to initiate a PIRP with the approval of two-thirds of their creditors to resolve their outstanding debt under the new mechanism.
The PIRP also allows for a Swiss challenge to the resolution plan submitted by a CD in case operational creditors are not paid 100 % of their outstanding dues.
A Swiss Challenge is a method of bidding, often used in public projects, in which an interested party initiates a proposal for a contract or the bid for a project.
Pre-packs are largely aimed at providing MSMEs with an opportunity to restructure their liabilities and start with a clean slate while still providing adequate protections so that the system is not misused by firms to avoid making payments to creditors.
9) Sela Tunnel recently in news is located in which of the Himalayan states?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
Sela Tunnel
It will be the longest bi-lane road tunnel in the world at an altitude above 13,000 feet, located in Arunachal Pradesh
It will provide all weather connectivity to Tawang.
10) Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct with respect to Azithromycin
It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is prescribed for various chest infections such as pneumonia.
Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug for treatment of Covid-19 due to its high proven evidence of treating the disease.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Azithromycin
Azithromycin is a generic prescription medication use to treat bacterial Infections.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved it to treat certain bacterial infections in adults and children.
It had shown to reduce exacerbations in chronic airway diseases, it was widely prescribed for Covid-19 initially, including in India.
A new study has shown that azithromycin does not have a role in the treatment of Covid-19; it only has a placebo effect.
India has taken it out of national state guidelines for treatment of Covid-19.
