INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 10 December 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• NPR contains a list of all residents, who have lived at a locality for at least the last six months and plans to stay in that area for the next six months or more.
• Prepared at the local (village/sub-town), sub-district, district, state and national level under provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, it is mandatory for every “usual resident” of India to register in the NPR.
• NPR data will be used for identifying the beneficiaries of subsidies.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/national-register-of-citizens-nrc-10/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: Key Provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

• Section 24of the RTI Act 2005 lays down that this law is not applicable to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule. However, the only exception these organisations have is for information on allegations of corruption and human rights violations.
• Second Schedule: It includes 26 intelligence and security agencies under its ambit. Some of them are (i) Intelligence Bureau (IB), (ii) Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of the Cabinet Secretariat (iii) Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), (iv) Special Frontier Force (SFF), (v) Border Security Force (BSF) (vi) National Security Guards (NSG) and (Vii) Assam Rifles.
• Section 8 of the RTI: It deals with exemption from disclosure of information under this legislation. As per this section there shall be no obligation on Government to provide any citizen information, disclosure which will affect (i) India’s sovereignty and integrity, (ii) security, (iii) strategic, scientific or economic interests of the state and (iv) relations with foreign States or (v) will lead to incitement of an offence.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/iaf-moves-court-against-rti-disclosure/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• What is Quad grouping?
  • The quadrilateral security dialogue includes Japan, India, United States and Australia.
  • All four nations find a common ground of being the democratic nations and common interests of unhindered maritime trade and security.
• Genesis:
  • The grouping traces its genesis to 2004 when the four countries came together to coordinate relief operations in the aftermath of the tsunami.
  • It then met for the first time in 2007 on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
  • The intention was to enhance maritime cooperation between the four nations.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/quad-is-u-s-anti-china-game-russia/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia.
• Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• S2 & S3: The SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The organization promotes development of economic and regional integration. It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/south-asian-association-for-regional-cooperation-saarc-2/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Context:
  • The Union Cabinet has approved laying of undersea optical fibre cable to connect 11 islands of Lakshadweep with Kochi by May 2023, to help improve broadband connectivity in the Union Territory.
  • The project will be funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund.
• Background:
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the submarine cable connectivity to Andaman and Nicobar Islands in August.
  • He had then announced the aim to connect Lakshadweep with undersea optical fibre cable as well in 1,000 days
• S1: The Andamans are separated from the Nicobar group by a channel (the Ten Degree Channel) some 150 km (93 mi) wide.
  • There are 572 islands in the territory of these, about 38 are permanently inhabited. The islands extend from 6° to 14° North latitudes and from 92° to 94° East longitudes.
• Link: S2: Lakshadweep comprises the only coral atolls of the country.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/lakshadweep-to-get-optical-fibre-cable/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface or ‘PM Wani’ gets cabinet approval.
  • The move is aimed at helping accelerate the uptake of broadband Internet services.
  • It was first recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2017.
• Key features of the project:
  • This will allow setting up of public WiFi hotspots across the country via public data offices or public data offices (PDOs).
  • It will not require the PDOs to get a license or pay a fee.
  • This will involve multiple players, including PDOs, Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOA), app providers, and a central registry.
• Implementation:
  • PDOs will be “facilitators” between service providers and users.
  • A PDOA will be an aggregator of PDOs that will oversee functions relating to authorization and accounting of Wi-Fi connections.
  • A person, who wants to use public Wi-Fi, can do so via an app and will make payments as per usage.
  • The project will also have an app developer who will build a platform to register users and discover Wani-compliant Wi-Fi hotspots in an area and display them on the app.
  • A central registry, which will be maintained by the Centre for Development of Telematics, will record the details of app providers, PDOAs and PDOs.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/pm-wani/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• What are CRZ norms?
  • Under the section 3 of Environment Protection Act, 1986 of India, Coastal Regulation Zone notification was issued in February 1991 for the first time.
  • In 2018-19, fresh Rules were issued, which aimed to remove certain restrictions on building, streamlined the clearance process, and aimed to encourage tourism in coastal areas.
• Objectives:
  • They restrict certain kinds of activities — like large constructions, setting up of new industries, storage or disposal of hazardous material, mining, reclamation and bunding — within a certain distance from the coastline.
• What are the restrictions?
  • The restrictions depend on criteria such as the population of the area, the ecological sensitivity, the distance from the shore, and whether the area had been designated as a natural park or wildlife zone.
  • The latest Rules have a no-development zone of 20 m for all islands close to the mainland coast, and for all backwater islands in the mainland.
  • For the so-called CRZ-III (Rural) areas, two separate categories have been stipulated.
  • In the densely populated rural areas (CRZ-IIIA) with a population density of 2,161 per sq km as per the 2011 Census, the no-development zone is 50 m from the high-tide level, as against the 200 m stipulated earlier.
  • CRZ-IIIB category (rural areas with population density below 2,161 per sq km) areas continue to have a no-development zone extending up to 200 m from the high-tide line.
  • Implementation:
  • While the CRZ Rules are made by the Union environment ministry, implementation is to be ensured by state governments through their Coastal Zone Management Authorities.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/coastal-regulation-zone-crz-norms-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Context:
  • The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against 16 “foreign-based Khalistanis”.
• S2: CBI is India’s officially designated single point of contact for liaison with the Interpol.
• S1: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is India’s counter-terrorist task force.
  • The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states.
  • The Agency came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008, which was passed after the deadly 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/nia-chargesheets-khalistani-activists/

Ans: (a)

Explanation: Mini Kaziranga:

• Assam’s Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is also known as ‘Mini Kaziranga’.
• It has the highest density of one-horned rhinos in the world and second highest concentration in Assam after Kaziranga National Park.
• Why in News?
  • Too many cattle robbing rhinos of nutrition in ‘Mini Kaziranga’.
  • This has been confirmed by the death of two rhinos whose alimentary canals had a high load of worms because of nutritional stress caused by dry reeds and other such “junk food” of the wilderness.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-10-december-2020/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• What is Submarine Day, celebrating the memory of INS Kalvari?
  • Celebrated on December 8th.
  • It was on December 8 that the Indian Naval Ensign was unfurled on INS Kalvari, the first submarine to be inducted in the Indian Navy, at Riga in Latvia, the erstwhile USSR, in 1967.
  • Kalvari is the Malayalam name for Tiger Shark, a predator in the Indian Ocean.
  • The Kalvari was decommissioned in 1996 after 29 years of service.
• Read: India’s Kalvari class of submarines, and its strategic significance
  • INS Kalvari (S21) is the first of the six Scorpène-class submarines currently in service with the Indian Navy. It is a diesel-electric attack submarine which is designed by DCNS (French naval defence and energy company) and was manufactured at Mazagon Dock Limited in MumbaI.
  • The ship inherits its name from INS Kalvari (S23) which served in the Indian Navy from 1967 to 1996. Kalvari is the Malayalam word for tiger shark, a deep-sea predator in the Indian Ocean.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/12/10/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-10-december-2020/