INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 18 January 2021) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Article 142 “provide(s) a unique power to the Supreme Court, to do “complete justice” between the parties, i.e., where at times law or statute may not provide a remedy, the Court can extend itself to put a quietus to a dispute in a manner which would befit the facts of the case.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/01/18/jallikattu-in-tamil-nadu-pride-politics/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• What is the Open Skies Treaty?
  • It is an accord between over 30 countries that allows participants to fly unarmed reconnaissance flights over any part of their fellow member states.
  • First proposed in 1955 by former US President Dwight Eisenhower as a means to deescalate tensions during the Cold War, the landmark treaty was eventually signed in 1992 between NATO members and former Warsaw Pact countries following the demise of the Soviet Union.
  • It went into effect in 2002 and had signatories, including key players US and Russia, along with one non-ratifying member (Kyrgyzstan).
• Aims of the OST:
  • Build confidence among members through mutual openness, thus reducing the chances of accidental war.
• Features of the treaty:
  • Under the treaty, a member state can “spy” on any part of the host nation, with the latter’s consent.
  • A country can undertake aerial imaging over the host state after giving notice 72 hours before, and sharing its exact flight path 24 hours before.
  • The information gathered, such as on troop movements, military exercises and missile deployments, has to be shared with all member states.
  • Only approved imaging equipment is permitted on the surveillance flights, and officials from the host state can also stay on board throughout the planned journey.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/01/18/what-russias-exit-means-for-the-open-skies-treaty/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Who are Uighurs?
  • A Muslim minority community concentrated in China’s northwestern Xinjiang province.
  • They claim closer ethnic ties to Turkey and other central Asian countries than to China.
• Why is China targeting the Uighurs?
  • Xinjiang is technically an autonomous region within China — its largest region, rich in minerals, and sharing borders with eight countries, including India, Pakistan, Russia and Afghanistan.
  • Over the past few decades, as economic prosperity has come to Xinjiang, it has brought with it in large numbers the majority Han Chinese, who have cornered the better jobs, and left the Uighurs feeling their livelihoods and identity were under threat.
  • This led to sporadic violence, in 2009 culminating in a riot that killed 200 people, mostly Han Chinese, in the region’s capital Urumqi. And many other violent incidents have taken place since then.
  • Beijing also says Uighur groups want to establish an independent state and, because of the Uighurs’ cultural ties to their neighbours, leaders fear that elements in places like Pakistan may back a separatist movement in Xinjiang.
  • Therefore, the Chinese policy seems to have been one of treating the entire community as suspect, and launching a systematic project to chip away at every marker of a distinct Uighur identity.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/01/18/u-k-urges-china-to-grant-un-access-to-xinjiang/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The United Kingdom has invited India, Australia and South Korea to attend the G7 summit that is scheduled to be held in June as “guest countries”.
• What is G7?
  • The G7, originally G8, was set up in 1975 as an informal forum bringing together the leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations.
  • The summit gathers leaders from the European Union (EU) and the following countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
  • The major purpose of the G-7 is to discuss and deliberate on international economic issues. It sometimes acts in concert to help resolve other global problems, with a special focus on economic issues.
• How did G7 become G8?
  • Russia was formally inducted as a member in the group in 1998, which led G7 to become G8.
  • However, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s condemnable act of moving Russian troops into eastern Ukraine and conquering Crimea in 2014 drew heavy criticism from the other G8 nations.
  • The other nations of the group decided to suspend Russia from the G8 as a consequence of its actions and the group became G7 again in 2014.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/01/18/g7-summit/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• 5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
• S1: 5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultra-low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users. Higher performance and improved efficiency empower new user experiences and connects new industries.
• Like its predecessors, 5G networks are cellular networks, in which the service area is divided into small geographical areas called cells. All 5G wireless devices in a cell are connected to the Internet and telephone network by radio waves through a local antenna in the cell. 
• First generation – 1G
  1980s: 1G delivered analog voice.
• Second generation – 2G
  Early 1990s: 2G introduced digital voice (e.g. CDMA- Code Division Multiple Access).
• Third generation – 3G
  Early 2000s: 3G brought mobile data (e.g. CDMA2000).
• Fourth generation – 4G LTE
  2010s: 4G LTE ushered in the era of mobile broadband.
• 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G all led to 5G, which is designed to provide more connectivity than was ever available before.
• 5G is already here today, and global operators started launching new 5G networks in early 2019. In 2020, many countries expect nationwide 5G mobile networks. Also, all major Android phone manufacturers are commercializing 5G phones. And soon, even more people may be able to access 5G.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/01/18/what-is-5g-and-how-prepared-is-india-to-adapt-to-this-tech/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• VoLTE is voice calls over a 4G LTE network, rather than the 2G or 3G connections. VolTE can transmit data too. VoLTE has up to three times more voice and data capacity than 3G UMTS and up to six times more than 2G GSM. So, both 1 and 2 are wrong.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/01/18/what-is-5g-and-how-prepared-is-india-to-adapt-to-this-tech/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The above statements are associated with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• Operation Polo was the name used to refer to the Hyderabad Police Action which was essentially a military operation under which the Indian armed forces encroached the State of Hyderabad and defeated the Nizam, obtaining the state of Hyderabad for the Indian Union.
• Kevadia:
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently flagged off eight trains connecting Kevadia in Gujarat, where the Statue of Unity is located, to different regions of the country.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/01/18/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-18-january-2021/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Warren Hastings, himself an intellectual, set up the Calcutta Madrasa in 1781 for the study and learning of Persian and Arabic.
• In 1791 the efforts of Jonathan Duncan, the British Resident at Benares, bore fruit and a Sanskrit College was opened at Benares.
• Lord Richard Colley Wellesley (NOT ARTHUR WELLESLEY) took the first step for training of Civil Servants when he founded the fort William College, in Calcutta in November 1800 where the Civil Servants of the Company were to receive training in the literature, science and languages of India.
• Source: (BL GROVER MODERN India, PAGE NO. 176 and 257)

Refer: UPSC CSE 2018

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Wood’s Despatch is called Magnacarta of English Education in India. As per this despatch:
  • An education department was to be set in every province.
  • Universities on the model of the London University be established in big cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
  • At least one government school be opened in every district.
  • Affiliated private schools should be given grant in aid.
  • The Indian natives should be given training in their mother tongue also.
  • In accordance with Wood’s despatch, Education Departments were established in every province and universities were opened at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1857 on the model of the London University.
  • Later more universities were opened in Punjab in 1882 and at Allahabad 1887.

Refer: UPSC CSE 2018

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• India ratified two fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization namely, Minimum Age Convention (No 138) concerning minimum age for admission to employment and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No 182) concerning the prohibition and immediate action for elimination of the worst forms of Child Labour.

Refer: UPSC CSE 2018