INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 30 June 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Researchers from GNS Science in New Zealand have announced that they mapped the shape and size of the Zealandia continent in unprecedented detail.
• Background:
  • Scientists confirmed the existence of an eighth continent, called Zealandia, under New Zealand and the surrounding ocean in 2017.
  • Because 94% of Zealandia’s 2 million square miles are underwater, mapping the continent is challenging.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/30/zealandia/

Ans: (a)

Explanation: World Bank’s STARS project:

• STARS stands for Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS).
• It is a project to improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states. This project is in line with the Sustainable Development Goal for education (SDG 4).
• Six states are- Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/30/world-banks-stars-project/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisages an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River.
• The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation, with Palestinian and Arab leadership insisting on the “1967 borders”, which is not accepted by Israel. The territory of the former Mandate Palestine (including Jerusalem) which did not form part of the Palestinian State would continue to be part of Israel.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/30/in-24-hours-palestine-faces-an-existential-threat/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• It is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, bordered by Jordan to the east and by the Green Line separating it and Israel on the south, west and north. The West Bank also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/30/in-24-hours-palestine-faces-an-existential-threat/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: Salient features of Scheme for formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (FME):

• Centrally Sponsored Expenditure to be shared by Government of India and States at 60:40.
• 2,00,000 micro-enterprises are to be assisted with credit linked subsidy. Micro enterprises will get credit linked subsidy at 35 per cent of the eligible project cost with ceiling of Rs. 10 lakh.
• Beneficiary contribution will be minimum 10 per cent and balance from loan. Seed capital will be given to SHGs (Rs. four lakh per SHG) for loan to members for working capital and small tools.
• The Scheme would be monitored at Centre by an Inter-Ministerial Empowered Committee (IMEC) under the Chairmanship of Minister, FPI.
• A State/ UT Level Committee (SLC) chaired by the Chief Secretary will monitor and sanction/ recommend proposals for expansion of micro units and setting up of new units by the SHGs/ FPOs/ Cooperatives.
• The States/ UTs will prepare Annual Action Plans covering various activities for implementation of the scheme, which will be approved by Government of India.
• A third party evaluation and mid-term review mechanism would be built in the programme.
• National level portal would be set-up wherein the applicants/ individual enterprise could apply to participate in the Scheme. All the scheme activities would be undertaken on the National portal.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/30/scheme-for-formalization-of-micro-food-processing-enterprises-fme-2/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Pre- independence:
• The British annexed Assam in 1826, and in 1881, the Naga Hills too became part of British India. The first sign of Naga resistance was seen in the formation of the Naga Club in 1918, which told the Simon Commission in 1929 “to leave us alone to determine for ourselves as in ancient times”.
• In 1946 came the Naga National Council (NNC), which declared Nagaland an independent state on August 14, 1947.
• The NNC resolved to establish a “sovereign Naga state” and conducted a “referendum” in 1951, in which “99 per cent” supported an “independent” Nagaland.
• Post- independence:
• On March 22, 1952, underground Naga Federal Government (NFG) and the Naga Federal Army (NFA) were formed. The Government of India sent in the Army to crush the insurgency and, in 1958, enacted the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
• Nagaland was formed out of the Naga Hills district of Assam and the then North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) province (now Arunachal Pradesh) in 1963.
• Nagaland Peace Accord is the accord signed-in on 3 August 2015 by the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) to end the insurgency

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/30/legitimate-concern-on-law-and-order-in-nagaland/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Development Support Services to States for Infrastructure Projects (DSSS) is implemented by NITI Aayog with a vision to achieve transformational, sustained delivery of infrastructure projects with state of art capacity disseminated at all levels of governance.
• The key objective behind it is creating PPP success stories and rebooting infrastructure project delivery models so a sustainable infrastructure creation cycle is established.
• The initiative involves providing project level support from Concept plan till financial closure to State Governments / UTs.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/18/development-support-services-for-states-uts-dsss-for-infrastructure-projects/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010
• It prohibits receipt of foreign contribution “for any activities detrimental to the national interest”.
• The Act specifies that NGOs require the government’s permission to receive funding from abroad. The purpose is to check that foreigners are not affecting India’s electoral politics, public servants, judges, journalists, NGOs etc. for wrong purposes. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
• The following cannot accept Foreign Contributions:
  • Election candidate
  • MPs/MLAs
  • Newspaper-walla: Correspondent, columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner, printer or publishers of a registered Newspaper
  • Public Servants: Judge, government servant or employee of any Corporation or any other body controlled on owned by the Government.
• History of the Act
  • Originally, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act was enacted in 1976 by the Indira Gandhi led government during the Emergency.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/02/04/ngos-and-regulation-of-their-foreign-funding/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• All the statements given above are correct
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act is an Act of the Parliament of India that prohibits a person to produce/manufacture/cultivate, possess, sell, purchase, transport, store, and/or consume any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.
• The act was amended thrice (1988, 2001 and 2014). NDPS Act has made stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• As per the NDPS Act, the minimum sentence for dealing with drugs is 10 years rigorous imprisonment coupled with a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. No bail is granted for those persons booked under this act.
• The following conventions various forms of control to limit the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
  • The UN Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs 1961
  • The Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971
  • The Convention on Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988
• India is a signatory to all these three.

Refer: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/contraband-worth-150-cr-seized-near-andaman/article30374252.ece

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Chinese infrastructure investment in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is on the rise, according to data collected by Reconnecting Asia in collaboration with the Financial Times. A focal point of this investment is the 16+1 format, which brings together China and 16 CEE countries. In November, at the sixth annual 16+1 summit, Chinese premier Li Keqiang announced an additional $2.4 billion in development-oriented financial cooperation loans.

Refer: https://www.csis.org/analysis/will-chinas-161-format-divide-europe