INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 8 October 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Stat1: Article 244 in Part X of the Constitution envisages a special system of administration for certain areas designated as ‘scheduled areas’ and ‘tribal areas. The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the administration and control of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes in any state except the four states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
  • The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, on the other hand, deals with the administration of the tribal areas in the four northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• Stat2: The tribal areas in the four states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram have been constituted as autonomous districts. But, they do not fall outside the executive authority of the state concerned.
  • The governor is empowered to organise and re-organise the autonomous districts. Thus, he can increase or decrease their areas or change their names or define their boundaries and so on.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/bodoland-poll-gets-assam-cabinet-nod/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Context:
  • The Election Commission has revised norms for star campaigners for polls during the pandemic.
• Changes proposed:
  • Maximum number of star campaigners reduced from 40 to 30 for a recognised party.
  • Stat2: For unrecognised registered parties, the number of star campaigners has been reduced from 20 to 15.
  • Besides, they now require permission from the district election official 48 hours prior to campaigning.
• Who are star campaigners?
  • They can be described as persons who are nominated by parties to campaign in a given set of Constituencies. These persons are, in almost all cases, prominent and popular faces within the Party. However, there are no specific definitions according to law or the Election Commission of India.
• Benefits:
  • The expenditure incurred on campaigning by such campaigners is exempt from being added to the election expenditure of a candidate. However, this only applies when a star campaigner limits herself to a general campaign for the political party she represents.
• What if a star campaigner campaigns specifically for one candidate?
  • Stat1: If a candidate or her election agent shares the stage with a star campaigner at a rally, then the entire expenditure on that rally, other than the travel expenses of the star campaigner, is added to the candidate’s expenses.
  • Even if the candidate is not present at the star campaigner’s rally, but there are posters with her photographs or her name on display, the entire expenditure will be added to the candidate’s account.
  • This applies even if the star campaigner mentions the candidate’s name during the event. When more than one candidate shares the stage, or there are posters with their photographs, then the expenses of such rally/meeting are equally divided between all such candidates.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/who-is-a-star-campaigner-2/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The concept of contempt of court is several centuries old. In England, it is a common law principle that seeks to protect the judicial power of the king, initially exercised by himself, and later by a panel of judges who acted in his name. Violation of the judges’ orders was considered an affront to the king himself. Over time, any kind of disobedience to judges, or obstruction of the implementation of their directives, or comments and actions that showed disrespect towards them came to be punishable.
• Stat1, 2 and 3: There were pre-Independence laws of contempt in India. Besides the early High Courts, the courts of some princely states also had such laws. When the Constitution was adopted, contempt of court was made one of the restrictions on freedom of speech and expression. Separately, Article 129 of the Constitution conferred on the Supreme Court the power to punish contempt of itself. Article 215 conferred a corresponding power on the High Courts. The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, gives statutory backing to the idea.
• The law codifying contempt classifies it as civil and criminal. Civil contempt is fairly simple. It is committed when someone wilfully disobeys a court order, or wilfully breaches an undertaking given to court. Criminal contempt is more complex. It consists of three forms: (a) words, written or spoken, signs and actions that “scandalise” or “tend to scandalise” or “lower” or “tends to lower” the authority of any court (b) prejudices or interferes with any judicial proceeding and (c) interferes with or obstructs the administration of justice.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/contempt-of-court-5/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• What was the case?
  • On March 23, the Shaheen Bagh sit-in protest against the citizenship law was cleared by Delhi police after curbs were imposed on assembly and movement of people in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The protest had been on for more than 100 days.
  • Even the apex court had appointed interlocutors to hold talks with the protesters and report back on the ground situation.
• What has the Supreme Court ruled now?
  • The judgment upheld the right to peaceful protest against a law but made it unequivocally clear that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied, and that too indefinitely.
  • It is the duty of the administration to remove such road blockades.
  • Dissent and democracy go hand in hand but protests must be carried out in designated area.
• Restrictions on Fundamental Rights:
  • Fundamental rights do not live in isolation. These rights are subject to reasonable restrictions imposed in the interest of sovereignty, integrity and public order.
• Basics:
  • Right to Protest peacefully:
  • The right to protest peacefully is guaranteed by the Constitution of India.
  • Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) give to all citizens the right to freedom of speech and expression, and to assemble peaceably and without arms.
  • However, under Articles 19(2) and 19(3), the right to freedom of speech is subject to “reasonable restrictions”.
  • These include the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.
• Powers of state:
  • The legal provisions and avenue available to police for handling agitations, protests, and unlawful assemblies are covered by the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and The Police Act, 1861.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/sc-public-places-cannot-be-occupied-indefinitely/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Inter-State River Water Disputes:
  • Article 262 of the Constitution provides for the adjudication of inter-state water disputes.
  • Under this, Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution and control of waters of any inter-state river and river valley.
  • Parliament may also provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint.
  • The Parliament has enacted the two laws:
  • The River Boards Act (1956).
  • The Inter-State Water Disputes Act (1956).
• The River Boards Act:
  • It provides for the establishment of river boards by the Central government for the regulation and development of inter-state river and river valleys.
  • A River Board is established on the request of state governments concerned to advise them.
• The Inter-State Water Disputes Act:
  • It empowers the Central government to set up an ad hoc tribunal for the adjudication of a dispute between two or more states in relation to the waters of an inter-state river or river valley.
  • The decision of the tribunal is final and binding on the parties to the dispute.
  • Neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to have jurisdiction in respect of any water dispute which may be referred to such a tribunal under this Act.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/river-boards/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Context:
  • It is a biennial report of the World Bank.
  • It provides a global audience with the latest and most accurate estimates on trends in global poverty and shared prosperity.
• Key findings in the latest report:
  • Overall scenario:
  • Global extreme poverty is expected to rise for the first time in 20 years because of the disruption caused by COVID-19.
  • This will exacerbate the impact of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing down poverty reduction.
  • The pandemic may push another 88 million to 115 million into extreme poverty or having to live on less than $1.50 per day, resulting in a total of 150 million such individuals.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/poverty-and-shared-prosperity-report/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Cas9 (CRISPR associated protein 9) is a protein which plays a vital role in the immunological defense of certain bacteria against DNA viruses, and which is heavily utilized in genetic engineering applications. Its main function is to cut DNA and therefore it can alter a cell’s genome.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/nobel-prize-in-chemistry/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• India’s Anti-Trust Regulation Framework:
  • The Competition Act, 2002 is India’s antitrust law. It replaced the Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practices Act of 1969.
  • The Act prohibits: anti-competitive agreements; abuse of dominant position by enterprises; and regulates combinations (Mergers and Acquisition), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.
  • Under the provisions of this act, the central government has established Competition Commission of India in 2003 which acts as a watchdog of free market economy.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/google-to-face-antitrust-case-in-india/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• About Natural Gas:
  • Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuels among the available fossil fuels.
  • It is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium.
  • It is a potent greenhouse gas itself when released into the atmosphere, and creates carbon dioxide during oxidation.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/natural-gas-marketing-reforms/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Context:
  • Delhi’s air quality has entered the ‘poor’ zone on the Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index — the first time since June 28.
• What is the National Air Quality Index?
  • Launched in 2014 with outline ‘One Number – One Color -One Description’ for the common man to judge the air quality within his vicinity.
  • The measurement of air quality is based on eight pollutants, namely: Particulate Matter (PM10), Particulate Matter (PM2.5), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Ammonia (NH3), and Lead (Pb).
• AQI has six categories of air quality. These are: Good, Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor and Severe.
  • It has been developed by the CPCB in consultation with IIT-Kanpur and an expert group comprising medical and air-quality professionals.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/08/air-quality-index/