QUIZ – 2019: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 30 December 2019

Solution: c)

Starting December 16, you can now transfer money online, using the National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) system at any time of the day, all through the year. Earlier, NEFT transactions could only be carried out between 8 am to 7 pm on weekdays plus first and third Saturday — second and fourth Saturdays, plus Sundays, excluded.

Moreover, NEFT transactions weren’t available on public holidays — which is not the case now.

NEFT has no upper limit to the transaction amount. This means that you can now transfer large amounts round-the-clock through NEFT. “This will be extremely beneficial for large-value transactions which cannot be done through UPI or IMPS

NEFT transactions will only be credited to the beneficiary account in batches, unlike the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) system, which transfers money in real time.

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Solution: a)

RBI announced that processing charges levied for NEFT and RTGS transactions will not apply starting January 2020. IMPS, on the other hand, is still chargeable. While the charge levied on an IMPS transaction depends largely on the amount being transferred and the policy of the bank carrying out the transfer, the fees usually range from ₹1 to ₹25.

Unlike IMPS, which can only be transacted online, a NEFT transaction can be done offline by visiting a bank branch. Additionally, as per the RBI mandate, there’s no limit on the amount of money that may be transferred via NEFT — unlike IMPS, where a maximum of Rs 2 lakh per day can be transferred.

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Solution: a)

Who is a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO)?

An FEO is defined by The Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, 2018 as “any individual against whom a warrant for arrest in relation to a scheduled offence has been issued by any court in India, who (i) has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution; or (ii) being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution”.

What is the process for declaring an individual an FEO?

Under the Act, an application must be filed in the special court asking that a particular individual may be declared an FEO.

The application must be accompanied by “reasons for the belief that an individual is a fugitive economic offender; any information available as to the whereabouts of the fugitive economic offender; a list of properties or the value of such properties believed to be the proceeds of crime”, etc.

The special court may then issue notice to the individual to appear at a specified place, and drop the proceedings if the individual complies.

If, however, the special court is satisfied that an individual is an FEO, it may, record so in an order, along with reasons. The court may then order the confiscation of the properties of the accused individual in India or abroad.

In the case of Nirav Modi, the ED filed an application under the FEO Act in July 2018. In the case of Mallya, the application was moved in June 2018, when the Act was still an Ordinance.

So, Nirav Modi is the second businessman, after Vijay Mallya, to be declared a fugitive economic offender under provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act.

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Solution: a)

For the first time, the entire genome of Asiatic lion has been sequenced by scientists from CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad.

The objective is to understand the species at DNA level and study if there are any specific problems with regard to adaptability to environment or behaviour vis-à-vis other big cats.

About Asiatic Lion:

• IUCN Red List Status: Endangered
• Listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
• At present the only home (natural habitat) of Asiatic lion is Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat.
• The population of the endangered Asiatic lion is very low — around 523 animals are present in the Gir forests.

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Solution: d)

Researchers have developed a device that will allow scientists to monitor frogs in the wild. Described as the world’s first solar-powered remote survey device that can be installed at any frog pond and which receives a 3G or 4G cellular network, it has been named “FrogPhone”.

It has been developed by a team from various Australian institutions, including the University of New South Wales and the University of Canberra.

With FrogPhone, researchers can simply “call” a frog habitat. After a call is made to one of the FrogPhones already on a site, the device will take three seconds to receive it. During these few seconds, the device’s temperature sensors will get activated, and environmental data such as air temperature, water temperature and battery voltage will be sent to the caller’s phone via a text message.

Because frogs are most active during night, researchers are usually required to make nightly observations in order to monitor them on site. The FrogPhone will allow researchers to dial these devices remotely, and analyse the data later.

It will reduce costs and risks, including the negative impact of human presence on the field site, the researchers say. These devices also allow for monitoring of local frog populations more frequently than before, which is important because these populations are recognised as indicators of environmental health.

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