INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS (17 DECEMBER 2019) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their functions”.
• When any of these rights and immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament.
• A notice is moved in the form of a motion by any member of either House against those being held guilty of breach of privilege. Each House also claims the right to punish as contempt actions which, while not breach of any specific privilege, are offences against its authority and dignity.
• The Speaker or RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion in their respective house. The Speaker/Chair can decide on the privilege motion himself or herself or refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament. If the Speaker/Chair gives consent under Rule 222, the member concerned is given an opportunity to make a short statement

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/12/17/what-is-a-privilege-motion-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation: Committee of Privileges

• Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have their Committee on Privileges. The Lok Sabha committee has
• 15 members, while the Rajya Sabha committee has 10 members. The members are nominated by the Speaker / Chairman as the case may be. The functions of this committee are semi-judicial in nature including examination of breach of privileges of the House. The committee recommends appropriate action.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/12/17/what-is-a-privilege-motion-2/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• 2007: The court took suo motu cognizance of “various instances where there was large scale destruction of public and private properties in the name of agitations, bandhs, hartals and the like”, and set up two Committees headed by former apex court judge Justice K T Thomas and senior advocate Fali Nariman to suggest changes to the law.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/12/17/prevention-of-damage-to-public-property-act/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are powered by hydrogen. They are more efficient than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and produce no tailpipe emissions—they only emit water vapor and warm air. FCEVs and the hydrogen infrastructure to fuel them are in the early stages of implementation.
• FCEVs use a propulsion system similar to that of electric vehicles, where energy stored as hydrogen is converted to electricity by the fuel cell. Unlike conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, they produce no harmful tailpipe emissions. Other benefits include increasing U.S. energy security and strengthening the economy.
• FCEVs are fueled with pure hydrogen gas stored in a tank on the vehicle. Similar to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, they can fuel in less than 5 minutes and have a driving range over 300 miles. FCEVs are equipped with other advanced technologies to increase efficiency, such as regenerative braking systems, which capture the energy lost during braking and store it in a battery. Major automobile manufacturers are offering a limited but growing number of production FCEVs to the public in certain markets, in sync with what the developing infrastructure can support
• How Fuel Cells Work
  • The most common type of fuel cell for vehicle applications is the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. In a PEM fuel cell, an electrolyte membrane is sandwiched between a positive electrode (cathode) and a negative electrode (anode). Hydrogen is introduced to the anode, and oxygen (from air) is introduced to the cathode. The hydrogen molecules break apart into protons and electrons due to an electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell catalyst. Protons then travel through the membrane to the cathode.
  • The electrons are forced to travel through an external circuit to perform work (providing power to the electric car) then recombine with the protons on the cathode side, where the protons, electrons, and oxygen molecules combine to form water

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/12/17/fuel-cell-electric-vehicles-fcev/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• NEFT is an electronic funds transfer system maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Started in November 2005, the setup was established and maintained by Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT).
• NEFT enables bank customers in India to transfer funds between any two NEFT-enabled bank accounts on a one-to-one basis.
• It is done via electronic messages.
• Unlike Real-time gross settlement (RTGS), fund transfers through the NEFT system do not occur in real-time basis.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/12/17/national-electronic-funds-transfer-neft/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: The National Payments Corporation of India is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.

• Founded in 2008, the NPCI is a not-for-profit organisation registered under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013, established by Reserve Bank of India & IBA.
• The organisation is owned by a consortium of major banks, and has been promoted by the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India.
• The NPCI was incorporated in December 2008 and the Certificate of Commencement of Business was issued in April 2009.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2017/07/29/insights-daily-current-affairs-29-july-2017/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• All of the given options are categorised as ‘Endangered’ on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/12/17/project-dolphin/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The Union Home Ministry has alerted States, warning them about the vulnerability of the Android operating system to a bug called ‘StrandHogg’.
• It is a Malware which allows real-time malware applications to pose as genuine applications and access user data of all kinds.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/12/17/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-17-december-2019/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

Ans: (d)

Explanation: