INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 19 June 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Stat1: The Constitution, under Article 312 gives authority to the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of Parliament) to set up new branches of the All India Services with a two-thirds majority vote. The Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) have been established under this constitutional provision.
• Stat2 and 3: The highest ranking civil servant is the Cabinet Secretary. He is ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board; the chief of the Indian Administrative Service and head of all civil services under the rules of business of the Government of India. He also holds the 11th position in the Order of Precedence of India.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/19/civil-services-board/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The president of India is the head of state (article-53) and the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces whilst the elected prime minister acts as the head of the executive, and is responsible for running the union government.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/19/civil-services-board/

Ans: (a)

Explanation: Russia-India-China grouping

• Conceived by the then Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov in 1998.
• The group was founded on the basis of “ending its subservient foreign policy guided by the U.S.,” and “renewing old ties with India and fostering the newly discovered friendship with China.”
• Significance and potential of the grouping:
• Together, the RIC countries occupy over 19 percent of the global landmass and contribute to over 33 percent of global GDP.
• All three are nuclear powers and two, Russia and China, are permanent members of the UN Security Council, while India aspires to be one.
• The trio could also contribute to creating a new economic structure for the world.
• They could work together on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/19/russia-india-china-grouping/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: Who are Uighurs?

• Uighurs are a Muslim minority community concentrated in the country’s northwestern Xinjiang province.
• They claim closer ethnic ties to Turkey and other central Asian countries than to China, by brute — and brutal — force.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/19/u-s-uighur-rights-bill/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The beneficiary verification process
  • The new system will work with help from technology. The beneficiaries will be verified through biometric authentication i.e. Aadhaar, and electronic point of sale (ePOS) devices will be installed at the outlets.
• How will the ration card portability system work?
  • The technological platform required for the ‘one nation one ration card’ scheme will be provided by the Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS) portal ( http://www.impds.nic.in/).
  • This portal will make it possible for the migrant workers to purchase food grains from any FPS located in any state of the country. The other portal that will host the data regarding the food grains distribution through ePOS within a state is annavitran.nic.in.
  • Once the ‘one nation one ration card’ system takes effect in a given state, the beneficiary family can purchase food grains from different locations. For example, a migrant worker staying in a different state can buy his or her share of the subsidized food grains from any FPS in the state where they work while the remaining family members will be able to buy their quota of the supplies back at home.
• Standard format of ‘one nation, one ration card’:
  • A standard format for ration card has been prepared after taking into account the format used by different states.
  • For national portability, the state governments have been asked to issue the ration card in bi-lingual format, wherein besides the local langauge, the other language could be Hindi or English.
  • The states have also been told to have a 10-digit standard ration card number, wherein first two digits will be state code and the next two digits will be running ration card numbers.
  • Besides this, a set of another two digits will be appended with ration card number to create unique member IDs for each member of the household in a ration card.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/19/one-nation-one-ration-card-scheme-4/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• It is an anti-inflammatory drug, commonly used to treat conditions in which the body’s immune system does not function properly, and causes inflammation and tissue damage.
• Dexamethasone reduces the production of the chemicals that cause inflammation and also reduces the activity of the immune system by affecting the way white blood cells function.
• It falls in a category called corticosteroids, which closely mimic cortisol, the hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands in humans.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/19/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-19-june-2020/

Ans: (c)

Explanation: Jagannath Rath Yatra:

• Popularly known as the ‘Festival of Chariots’, Rath Yatra festival in honour of Puri’s Lord Jagannath is grand celebration.
• The festival is dedicated to Lord Jagannath, his sister Goddess Subhadra and elder brother Balabhadra.
• All the three deities of the temple – Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra – travel in three different chariots during this festival. The chariots are called Nandighosha, Taladhwaja, and Devadalana respectively.
• New chariots for all the three deities are constructed every year using wood even if the architect of the chariots remain similar. Four wooden horses are attached to each chariot.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/19/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-19-june-2020/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Kodumanal is a village located in the Erode district in Tamil Nadu. It is located on the northern banks of Noyyal River, a tributary of the Cauvery.
• It was once a flourishing ancient trade city known as Kodumanam, as inscribed in Patittrupathu of Sangam Literature.
• It served as a trade-cum-industrial centre from 5th century BCE to 1st century BCE.
• The place is an important archaeological site, under the control of State Archaeological Department of Tamil Nadu.
• Why in News?
  • The following things have been found during the ongoing excavation at the site:
  • 10 Pots and bowls placed outside three-chambered burial cists and inside the cairn-circle. This has thrown light on burial rituals and the concept of afterlife in megalithic culture.
  • Other findings: Animal skull, possibly of a wolf or a dog; precious stones; copper smelting units; potteries.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/19/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-19-june-2020/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched ‘Santusht portal’ to monitor the implementation of labour laws at the grassroots level. The objective of ‘Santusht’ is to promote transparency, accountability, effective delivery of public services and implementation of policies, schemes of Ministry of Labour and Employment at the grassroots level through constant monitoring.
• It monitors services that are provided by the health insurance and EPFOs.

Refer: https://pib.nic.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1601761

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The Department of Science and Technology launches SATHI Initiative for building shared, professionally managed strong S&T infrastructure. It will address the problems of accessibility, maintenance, redundancy and duplication of expensive equipment in the Institutions. The aim is to provide professionally managed services with efficiency, accessibility and transparency of highest order under one roof to service the demands of industry, start-ups and academia.
• In the first phase SATHI facilities are being located at IIT-Delhi, IIT-Kharagpur and BHU- Varanasi.
• The facilities provided by the SATHI may be utilized by any user/organization on payment of nominal charge.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/02/04/sophisticated-analytical-technical-help-institutessathi/