[MISSION 2022] INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 25 August 2021) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• S1: A Union minister or a Member of Parliament enjoys certain privileges but most of them are available when Parliament is in session.
• S2: If Parliament is not in session, police or other law enforcement agencies may arrest a Union cabinet minister in a criminal case.
  • But, under Section 222A of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business of the Rajya Sabha, the police or a judge issuing an arrest order is required to intimate the Rajya Sabha Chairman about the reason for and place of arrest. The Chairman gets it published in a Rajya Sabha

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/08/25/what-is-the-procedure-to-arrest-a-cabinet-minister-in-india/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: What is the creamy layer?

• It is a concept that sets a threshold within which OBC reservation benefits are applicable. While there is a 27% quota for OBCs in government jobs and higher educational institutions, those falling within the “creamy layer” cannot get the benefits of this quota.
• S1 and S2:

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/08/25/sc-sets-aside-haryana-order-creating-a-sub-category-of-creamy-layer/

Ans: (c)

Explanation: what is Bonn Agreement?

• Bonn was a closed-door negotiation; participants were isolated, outside contact was limited during the negotiations, and there was no publicity until after the agreement was signed.
• The existing nominal head of state (Rabbani) was sidelined and did not participate, and the Taliban were completely excluded from the Bonn negotiations.
• The United Nations and several other international actors played major roles in pushing the negotiations forward, and the Bonn Agreement was blessed by the U.N. Security Council.
• The Bonn Agreement set an ambitious three-year political and administrative roadmap which was, by and large, followed:
  • The Emergency Loya Jirga (grand council) of June 2002 established the transitional administration, a new Constitution was ratified in early 2004, and presidential and parliamentary elections were held in 2004 and 2005.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/08/25/un-assistance-mission-in-afghanistan-unama/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• This is an urban employment scheme proposed to be implemented by Tamil Nadu Government on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
• It seeks to improve the livelihood of urban poor.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/08/25/tn-announces-a-wage-employment-scheme-for-urban-poor/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Ministry of Rural Development has been implementing ‘The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005’ which provides at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members (both male and female) volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The demand for work itself is influenced by various factors such as rain-fall pattern, availability of alternative and remunerative employment opportunities outside MGNREGA and prevailing unskilled wage rates.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/08/25/tn-announces-a-wage-employment-scheme-for-urban-poor/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex body that allows for commercial release of GM crops.
• Use of the unapproved GM variant can attract a jail term of 5 years and fine of 1 lakh under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is the authorised body to regulate the imported crops in India.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/08/25/gm-soya-cake-imports/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: It is developed by using three genes viz., barnase, barstar and bar from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens for hybrid seed production.
  • The barnase gene confers male sterility to a plant in which it is inserted and barstar gene restore the fertility to produce fertile hybrid plants and seeds.
  • The third gene bar synthesize an enzyme call PAT, which is responsible for tolerance to glufosinate in the plant. Glufosinate is a broad spectrum herbicide, which indiscriminately eliminates weeds and any plant that does not have the bar gene.
  • Glufosinate herbicides contain the active ingredient phosphinothricin, which kills plants by blocking the enzyme responsible for nitrogen metabolism and for detoxifying ammonia, a by-product of plant metabolism.
• S2: It has mainly two genes (‘barnase’ and ‘barstar’) that allow for cross-pollination and hybridisation in mustard, which is largely a self-pollinating plant because of its individual flowers containing both female and male reproductive organs. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• S3: GM mustard was developed by scientists at Delhi University and the project was part-funded by the Department of Biotechnology, a division of the Science Ministry.

Refer: UPSC CSE 2018 https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/08/25/gm-soya-cake-imports/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Bhuvan is the national geo-portal developed and hosted by ISRO comprising geospatial data, services, and tools for analysis.
• VEDAS (Visualisation of Earth observation Data and Archival System) is an online geoprocessing platform that uses optical, microwave, thermal, and hyperspectral EO data covering applications particularly meant for academia, research and problem solving.
• MOSDAC (Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival Centre) is a data repository for all the meteorological missions of ISRO and deals with weather-related information, oceanography, and tropical water cycles.
• Yuktdhara:
  • It is a Geospatial Planning Portal for facilitating Gram Panchayat level planning of MGNREGA. It is a new portal under ‘Bhuvan’.
  • Launched by the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

Refer: Facts for Prelims:. https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/08/25/mission-2022-insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-25-august-2021/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• S1: Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal.
• S2: It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent. The lake is home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals.
• S3: In 2002, Chilika was taken out of the Montreux Record, in light of the improved conditions of the lake. Chilika lake is the first Ramsar site in Asia to be removed from the Montreux record.

Refer: Facts for Prelims:. https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/08/25/mission-2022-insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-25-august-2021/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• S1 and S2: Visible light communication (VLC) is a data communications variant which uses visible light between 400 and 800 THz (780–375 nm). VLC is a subset of optical wireless communications technologies. But, it is short-range communication. So, S2 is wrong.
• S3: The technology uses fluorescent lamps to transmit signals at 10 kbit/s, or LEDs for up to 500 Mbit/s over short distances. But, types of VLC such as Li-Fi can transmit signals at several MBps, much faster than Bluetooth which can transfer only upto 25 Mbit/s, so 3 is correct.
• Also, aside from the size of the visible light spectrum, light travels 186,000 miles per second, which is way faster than the 344 meters per second traveled by radio waves in air (used by Bluetooth). See this piece as well which claims VLC is a fast way of transmitting the internet https://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/pilab/research-1/visible-light-communications
• S4: Visible Light Communication (VLC) is a preferred communication technique because of its high bandwidth and immunity to interference from electromagnetic sources. So, 4 is correct. See https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352864816300335

Refer: UPSC CSE 2020