[MISSION 2022] INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 7 January 2022 ) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• FCRAregulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect the internal security of the country.
• The Act, first enacted in 1976 was amended in the year 2010 and then 2020.
• Section 5 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 gives the Union government “unchecked and unbridled powers” to declare an organisation as being one of political nature and deny it access to funds from sources abroad.
• FCRA is implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/01/07/foreign-contribution-regulation-act-2010-registation-for-ngos/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• It is an intergovernmental military alliance(six countries) that came into effect in 2002.
• Its’ origin can be traced to the Collective Security Treaty, 1992 (Tashkent Treaty).
• The headquarter is located in the Russian capital of Moscow.
• The objectives of the CSTO is to strengthen peace, international and regional security including cybersecurity and stability, the protection on a collective basis of the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the member states.
• In the CSTO, aggression against one signatory is perceived as aggression against all.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/01/07/collective-security-treaty-organisation/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Reserve Bank of India has released its list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs)in 2021.
• It has identified the state-owned lender State Bank Of Indiaand the private lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as systemically important banks, which are perceived as banks, ‘too big to fail’.
• What are D-SIBs?
  • The system of D-SIBs was adopted in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis where the collapse of many systematically important banks across various regions further fueled the financial downturn.
  • D-SIBs are important for the country’s economy. In events of distress, the government supports such banks and if such a bank fails, it would lead to disruption of the country’s overall economy.
  • RBI finalizes such banks after considering factors like size, complexity, lack of substitutability and interconnectedness of the banks, state reports.
• How are D-SIBs determined?
  • Since 2015, the RBI has been releasing the list of all D-SIBs. They are classified into five buckets, according to their importance to the national economy.
  • In order to be listed as a D-SIB, a bank needs to have assets that exceed 2 percent of the national GDP. The banks are then further classified on the level of their importance across the five buckets.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/01/07/domestic-systemically-important-banks-d-sibs/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• S1:This is widely used in developed countries to save manpower.
• S2: Drones can go where volcanologists can’t, e.g. craters of volcanoes, giving researchers access to potentially life-saving data. See https://www.insightsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/UPSC-prelims-questions-paper-2020-GS-paper-1.pdf
• S3:See recent article on this: https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/13/16468698/drone-humpback-whale-microbiome-health-conservation
• Scientists flew a small drone over the blowhole of a few humpback whales in the US and Canada to collect the microbes living inside their breath. Sampling the community of microbes and bacteria living inside whales, called the microbiome, can help us better understand what makes a healthy whale, and what happens when a whale gets sick.
• Refer: UPSC CSE 2020

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/01/07/use-of-drones/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The Special Protection Group(SPG) is an agency of the Government of India whose sole responsibility is protecting the Prime Minister of India.
• In March 1985, following the recommendations of a committee set up by the Home Ministry, a special unit was created for this purpose under the Cabinet Secretariat. This unit, initially called the Special Protection Unit, was renamed as Special Protection Group in April 1985.
• The SPG protects Prime Minister and his immediate family members. It also protects the former prime ministers.
• The SPG force is controlled by the Union Government. The directors and assistance directors of the group are appointed by the Union Government.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/01/07/special-protection-group-spg-act/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Horn of Africa is a peninsula and the easternmost projection of the African continent. The Horn of Africa consists of the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/01/07/mission-2022-insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-07-january-2022-2/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Archeologists have found ‘shankhalipi’ inscriptions on the stairs on an ancient temple dating back to the Gupta period in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district.
• The inscriptions mention ‘Sri Mahendraditya’, the title of Kumaragupta I of the Gupta dynasty.
• About the Shankhalipi script:
  • Shankhalipi or “shell-script” describe ornate spiral characters assumed to be Brahmi derivatives that look like conch shells or shankhas.
  • They are found in inscriptions across north-central India and date to between the 4th and 8th centuries.
  • The inscriptions consist of a small number of characters, suggesting that the shell inscriptions are names or auspicious symbols or a combination of the two.
  • The script was discovered in 1836 on a brass trident in Uttarakhand’s Barahat by English scholar James Prinsep, who was the founding editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/09/22/what-is-the-shankhalipi-script/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0001/9900162/2.2/data/0-data/jgofscd/htdocs/marinearc/ancientwreck.html

Refer: UPSC CSE 2020

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• From the book by Upinder Singh,
• “Forced labour (vishti) became more common than before in this period. The fact that it is mentioned along with taxes in land grant inscriptions suggests that, it was considered, a source of for the state, a sort of tax payed by the people. The fact that most of the inscriptions referring to vishti come the Madhya Pradesh and Kathiawar region may suggest that this practice was more prevalent in these areas”.

Refer: UPSC CSE 2019

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: Biofortification is the process by which plant breeder’s breed in traits of improved nutrition to crops.
  • Food fortification is defined as the practice of adding vitamins and minerals to commonly consumed foods during processing to increase their nutritional value.
• S2: As per the Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2018.
  • (1) When fortification of a food is made mandatory, it shall be based on severity and extent of public health need as demonstrated by generally accepted scientific evidence.
  • (2) The Food Authority may, specify mandatory fortification of any staple food on the directions of the Government of India.

Refer: https://fssai.gov.in/upload/advisories/2018/07/5b52d9fe1f02bReg-58.pdf