INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 2 April 2021) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: It is wrong because the Communist Party of India (CPI) was the single largest opposition party in the First general Election. CPI won in 16 seats.
• S3: It is wrong because in order to the receive the status of opposition party and Consequent Leader of Opposition Tag a party should secure 10% of the total strength of the House 1.e. 55 seats in the Lok Sabha. This is as per the Mavalakar Rule.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/04/02/why-haryana-amended-rules-for-conduct-of-business-in-assembly/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: What is the SC’s Prakash Singh judgment on police reforms?

• Prakash Singh, who served as DGP of UP Police and Assam Police besides other postings, filed a PIL in the Supreme Court post retirement, in 1996, seeking police reforms.
• In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court in September 2006 had directed all states and Union Territories to bring in police reforms.
• What measures were suggested by the Supreme Court?
  • Fixing the tenure and selection of the DGP to avoid situations where officers about to retire in a few months are given the post.
  • In order to ensure no political interference, a minimum tenure was sought for the Inspector General of Police so that they are not transferred mid-term by politicians.
  • Postings of officers should be done by Police Establishment Boards (PEB) comprising police officers and senior bureaucrats to insulate powers of postings and transfers from political leaders.
  • Set up State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA) to give a platform where common people aggrieved by police action could approach.
  • Separate investigation and law and order functions to better improve policing.
  • Set up of State Security Commissions (SSC) that would have members from civil society.
  • Form a National Security Commission.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/04/02/the-2006-supreme-court-ruling-on-police-reforms/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It includes all the major countries of South Asia, except Maldives, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• S2: The BIMSTEC uses the alphabetical order for the Chairmanship. The Chairmanship of the BIMSTEC has been taken in rotation commencing with Bangladesh (1997–1999).
• S3: The BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat at Dhaka was opened in 2014 and India contributes 32% of its expenditure.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/04/02/bimstec-3/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• IceCube:- South Pole, Antarctica
• ANTARES:- under the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Toulon, France
• JUNO(Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory):- Kaiping, China
• Baikal-GVD:- Lake Baikal, Russia
• About Baikal- GVD:
  • It is one of the three largest neutrino detectors in the world along with the IceCube at the South Pole and ANTARES in the Mediterranean Sea.
  • It seeks to study in detail the elusive fundamental particles called neutrinos and to possibly determine their sources.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/04/02/baikal-gvd-gigaton-volume-detector/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Neutrinos, first proposed by Swiss scientist Wolfgang Pauli in 1930, are the second most widely occurring particle in the universe, only second to photons, the particle which makes up light.
• So where do neutrinos fit in?
• What makes neutrinos especially interesting is that they are abundant in nature, with about a thousand trillion of them passing through a human body every second. In fact, they are the second most abundant particles, after photons, which are particles of light. But while neutrinos are abundant, they are not easy to catch, this is because they do not carry a charge, as a result of which they do not interact with matter.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/04/02/baikal-gvd-gigaton-volume-detector/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Russian scientists recently launched one of the world’s biggest underwater neutrino telescopes called the Baikal-GVD (Gigaton Volume Detector) in the waters of Lake Baikail, the world’s deepest lake situated in Siberia.
• It is the oldest existing freshwater lake on Earth (20 million–25 million years old), as well as the deepest continental body of water more>>
• .UNESCO declared Lake Baikal a World Heritage Site in 1996. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/754/

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/04/02/baikal-gvd-gigaton-volume-detector/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) was established in 1999 within the Public Account of India for pooling the money from different SSSs. Collections from all small savings schemes ae credited to the NSSF. Similarly, withdrawals under small savings schemes by the depositors are made out of this Fund.  The money in the account are used by the centre and states to finance their fiscal deficit. The balance in the Fund is invested in Central and State Government Securities. Pattern of utilization of the fund among the centre and states is decided from time to time by the Government of India.
• The NSSF is administered by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance under National Small Savings Fund Rules, 2001, which is derived from Article 283(1) of the Constitution.
• No interest cut on small savings:
  • Hours after notifying significant cuts in small savings instruments’ returns for this quarter, the government backtracked and reversed the sharp rate cuts.
  • How are interest rates decided?
  • Theoretically, since 2016, interest rate resetting has been done based on yields of government securities of the corresponding maturity with some spread on the scheme for senior citizens. However, in practice, the interest rate changes are made considering several other factors.
  • The small savings schemes basket comprises 12 instruments including the Savings Deposit, National Saving Certificate (NSC), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) and Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/04/02/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-2-april-2021/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: About the Award:

• Dadasaheb Phalke award is India’s highest award in cinema.
• It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting).
• The award prize consists of a golden lotus, a cash prize of ₹10 lakh and a shawl.
• The award is given to people for their “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema”.
• It was first presented in 1969. The first recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani, “the first lady of Indian cinema.”

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/04/02/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-2-april-2021/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• S1: River Krishna forms northern most boundary of the Tiger Reserve.
• S2: The reserve primarily comprises of southern tropical dry mixed deciduous forest
• S3: The native population of the reserve includes the tribes of Chenchus. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/hidden-chenchus-and-crouching-tigers-of-nallamala/article28763206.ece

Refer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam_Tiger_Reserve

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The Sundarbans is a cluster of low-lying islands in the Bay of Bengal, spread across India and Bangladesh, famous for its unique mangrove forests. This active delta region is among the largest in the world, measuring about 40,000 sq km. https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/critical_regions/sundarbans3/about_sundarbans/
• The Sundarbans is of universal importance for globally endangered species including the Royal Bengal Tiger, Ganges and Irawadi dolphins, estuarine crocodiles and the critically endangered endemic river terrapin (Batagur baska). It is the only mangrove habitat in the world for Panthera tigris tigris species. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/798/

Refer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundarbans#Geography