INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 1 December 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The ‘None of the Above’ option, simply put, gives the voter the right to express a negative opinion by not selecting any of the candidates in the fray. The Supreme Court envisaged NOTA as a way of cleansing the political system, saying, “Negative voting will lead to a systemic change in polls and political parties will be forced to project clean candidates.”
• S1: As an Election Commission official pointed, “The NOTA option on EVMs has no electoral value. Even if the maximum number of votes cast is for NOTA, the candidate getting the most of the remaining votes would be declared winner.”
• Link: S2: A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra held that the NOTA option is meant only for universal adult suffrage and direct elections and not polls held by the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote as done in the Rajya Sabha.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/01/hold-polls-where-nota-got-most-votes-petition/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, inserted by The Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act, 1985, when Rajiv Gandhi’s government was in power.
• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
• The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/01/mlc-disqualified-for-being-appointed-as-a-minister/

Ans: (a)

Explanation: About FATF:

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7.
• It is a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas.
• The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
• Roles and functions:
  • Initially it was established to examine and develop measures to combat money laundering.
  • In October 2001, the FATF expanded its mandate to incorporate efforts to combat terrorist financing, in addition to money laundering.
  • In April 2012, it added efforts to counter the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
• Composition:
  • The FATF currently comprises 37 member jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations, representing most major financial centres in all parts of the globe. It also has observers and associate members.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/01/financial-action-task-force-fatf-7/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The river Yamuna is a major tributary of river Ganges.
• Originates from the Yamunotri glacier near Bandarpoonch peaks in the Mussoorie range of the lower Himalayas in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.
• It meets the Ganges at the Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh after flowing through Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi.
• Tributaries: Chambal, Sindh, Betwa and Ken.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/01/yamuna-river-pollution/

Ans: (a)

Explanation: here the directive word is not correct!!

• About the New Development Bank:
  • It is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
  • The New Development Bank was agreed to by BRICS leaders at the 5th BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa in 2013.
  • It was established in 2014, at the 6th BRICS Summit at Fortaleza, Brazil.
  • The bank is set up to foster greater financial and development cooperation among the five emerging markets.
  • In the Fortaleza Declaration, the leaders stressed that the NDB will strengthen cooperation among BRICS and will supplement the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global development.
  • The bank will be headquartered in Shanghai, China.
  • The initial authorized capital of the bank is $100 billion divided into 1 million shares having a par value of $100,000 each. The initial subscribed capital of the NDB is $50 billion divided into paid-in shares ($10 billion) and callable shares ($40 billion). The initial subscribed capital of the bank was equally distributed among the founding members. The Agreement on the NDB specifies that every member will have one vote no one would have any veto powers
• Roles and functions:
  • The New Development Bank will mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, to supplement existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/01/fight-fake-news-brics-media-forum/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: Indian peacock soft-shell turtle:

• It is a riverine turtle endemic to India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
• They are generally omnivorous (predominantly carnivorous) and nocturnal.
• Conservation Status:
  • Vulnerable on IUCN Redlist.
  • The species is also listed under Appendix I of CITES.
  • Protected under the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act.
  • Belongs to the family Trionychidae.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/insta-75-days-revision-plan-for-prelims-2020-instatests/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Gharials can be naturally found in National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary. The gharial is one of three crocodilians native to India, the other two being the mugger crocodile and the saltwater crocodile.

Refer: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/more-than-5-000-gharials-born-in-chambal-sanctuary-66277

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Quoting a Planning Commission report, “For 2011-12, for rural areas the national poverty line using the Tendulkar methodology is estimated at Rs. 816 per capita per month and Rs. 1,000 per capita per month in urban areas. Thus, for a family of five, the all India poverty line in terms of consumption expenditure would amount to about Rs. 4,080 per month in rural areas and Rs. 5,000 per month in urban areas. These poverty lines would vary from State to State because of inter-state price differentials.”
• See http://planningcommission.nic.in/news/pre_pov2307 .pdf, page 2.

Source: UPSC CSE 2019

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Like incineration, pyrolysis, gasification and plasma technologies are thermal processes that use high temperatures to break down waste. The main difference is that they use less oxygen than traditional mass-burn incineration.
• See https://friendsoftheearth.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/gasification_pyrolysis.pdf

Source: UPSC CSE 2019

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Agricultural soils contributed to over 70% of N2O emissions from India in 2010, followed by waste water (12%) and residential and commercial activities (6%). Since 2002, N2O has replaced methane as the second largest Greenhouse Gas (GHG) from Indian agriculture.
• Cattle account for 80% of the ammonia production, though their annual growth rate is 1%, due to a stable population.
• The poultry industry, on the other hand, with an annual growth rate of 6%, recorded an excretion of reactive nitrogen compounds of 0.415 tonnes in 2016.
• See https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/nitrogen-emissions-going-up-study/article24090131.ece

Source: UPSC CSE 2019