INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 4 December 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: Specifically, Section 8 of RPA, 1951 states the grounds for disqualification on conviction of certain offences pursuant to Section 8 of RPA, 1951, in case the candidate is convicted of certain offences specified under sub-section (1) (2) (3) of Sec. 8 and sentenced to indicated fine or imprisonment, then such a candidate is disqualified from being a member of either house of Parliament or State Legislature from the date of such conviction till the stated time.
• S1: According to Articles 102(1)(a) and 191(1)(a) of Constitution, legislators (MP or MLA) can be barred from holding office of profit under Central Government or state government as it can put them in position to gain financial benefit.
• The Supreme Court recently held that the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Act, 2006 exempting 55 offices occupied by members of Parliament from disqualification was constitutionally valid. See https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Supreme-Court-upholds-office-of-profit-law/article16876481.ece

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/04/convicted-legislators-cant-be-barred-for-life-from-polls/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The deadline for the government’s Accessible India campaign that aims at making public spaces friendly for persons with disabilities has been extended due to slow progress. The revised deadlines have been extended to March 2020.
• Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) has launched Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) as a nation-wide Campaign for achieving universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).  It has the following three important components:
  • Part A: Built Environment Accessibility
    • These would include not only buildings, but also footpaths, curb cuts, and obstacles that block the flow of pedestrian traffic.
  • Part B: Transportation System Accessibility
    • The term transportation covers a number of areas including air travel, buses, taxis, and trains.
  • Part C: Information and Communication Eco-System Accessibility
• Access to information refers to all information. This can range from actions such as being able to read price tags, to physically enter a hall, to participate in an event, to read a pamphlet with healthcare information, to understand a train timetable, or to view webpages.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/04/how-much-of-indias-population-lives-with-disabilities/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The Election Commission has announced that it will allow those above the age of 65 as well as those under home or institutional quarantine to vote using postal ballots during the Bihar elections. Opposition parties are unhappy with the move and termed it unconstitutional. Here is a look at what are postal ballots and the controversy around it.
• What is postal voting?
  • A restricted set of voters can exercise postal voting. Through this facility, a voter can cast her vote remotely by recording her preference on the ballot paper and sending it back to the election officer before counting.
• Who can avail this facility?
  • Members of the armed forces like the Army, Navy and Air Force, members of the armed police force of a state (serving outside the state), government employees posted outside India and their spouses are entitled to vote only by post. In other words, they can’t vote in person. Voters under preventive detention can also vote only by post.
  • Special voters such as the President of India, Vice President, Governors, Union Cabinet ministers, Speaker of the House and government officers on poll duty have the option to vote by post. But they have to apply through a prescribed form to avail this facility.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/04/how-nris-could-vote-by-post/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Who are Rohingyas?
  • They are an Ethnic group, mostly Muslims. They were not granted full citizenship by Myanmar.
  • They were classified as “resident foreigners or associate citizens”.
  • Ethnically they are much closer to Indo-Aryan people of India and Bangladesh than to the Sino-Tibetans of the Country.
  • Described by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as “one of, if not the, most discriminated people in the world”.
• Where are they now?
  • About 860,000 Rohingya live in the world’s largest and most densely populated refugee camp in southern Bangladesh.
  • The Myanmar and Bangladesh governments continue to negotiate terms for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
  • According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are approximately 40,000 Rohingyas living in India.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/04/bangladesh-begins-shifting-rohingya/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/04/what-is-the-bribery-for-presidential-pardon-scheme-unveiled-by-the-us-justice-department/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: Here the directive word is not correct!!

• S1: The Z-shaped recovery is the most-optimistic scenario in which the economy quickly rises like a phoenix after a crash. It more than makes up for lost ground (think revenge-buying after the lockdowns are lifted) before settling back to the normal trend-line, thus forming a Z-shaped chart.

• S2: In V-shaped recovery the economy quickly recoups lost ground and gets back to the normal growth trend-line.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/04/economy-firmly-on-the-path-of-a-v-shaped-recovery-says-govt/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• “Culture of Peace” session:
• Organised by the UN General Assembly.
• The UN has organised such sessions each year since 1997.
• The Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 1999.
• This occurred after ten months of negotiations in the context of preparations for the International Year for the Culture of Peace.
• At the latest session, India asked the United Nations to expand its criticism of hatred and violence against religions beyond the three Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/04/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-4-december-2020/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Statement 1: It is a NGO, not a bureau under UNEP. So, 1 is wrong.
• TRAFFIC is governed by the TRAFFIC Committee, a steering group composed of members of TRAFFIC’s partner organizations, WWF and IUCN.
• Statement 2: It is working globally on Wildlife trade monitoring network.
• It specializes in investigating and analysing wildlife trade trends, patterns, impacts and drivers to provide the leading knowledge base on trade in wild animals and plants.
• Refer: http://www.traffic.org/overview

Source: UPSC CSE 2017

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The 42nd Amendment added new Directive Principles, viz Article 39A, Article 43A and Article 48A.
• Article 43A deals with ‘Participation of workers in management of industries’.
• http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend42.htm

Source: UPSC CSE 2017

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Statement 1: Bioremediation uses naturally occurring organisms to break down hazardous substances into less toxic or non toxic substances.
• Statement 2:  Always be cautious of extreme statements and words as we have repeatedly pointed out in our 2017 Prelims Test Series. Completely and readily (quickly) are such words here.
• Bio-remediation is a slow process, so. Heavy metals such as cadmium and lead are NOT readily absorbed or captured by microorganisms. UPSC had lifted this straight from Wikipedia.
• Statement 3:  This will be a standard practice in the industry in coming years. For e.g.  Alcanivorax, a bacteria with oil-eating abilities, can be used to create species that are much more capable of cleaning oil spills.
• Refer: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160509115556.htm
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-microbes-clean-up-oil-spills/

Source: UPSC CSE 2017