[Mission 2022] Insta– QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 29 April 2022

Solution: a)

The CrPC provides for ‘examination’ (of the accused by a medical practitioner) which includes examination of blood, semen, swabs (in the case of sexual offences), sputum and sweat, hair samples and fingernail clippings using modern and scientific techniques including DNA profiling and other necessary tests which could provide evidence as to the commission of an offence. Similarly, Section 311A of the CrPC empowers a magistrate to direct any person (including an accused person) to give a specimen signature or handwriting for the purpose of any investigation or proceedings.

The only exceptions are scientific techniques, namely narcoanalysis, polygraphy and brain fingerprinting which the Supreme Court in Selvi vs State of Karnataka (2010) held to be testimonial compulsions (if conducted without consent), and thus prohibited under Article 20(3) of the Constitution. These tests do not fall under the scope of expression “such other tests” in Explanation of Section 53 of the CrPC. 

Source

Solution: d)

REITs are investment vehicles that pool investor money like mutual funds and use it to buy a portfolio of real estate assets. They manage these assets to generate a regular income and capital appreciation. In order to ensure that the REIT is able to generate income, 80 per cent of the portfolio of a REIT should be invested in completed and rent-generating properties.

While REITs can invest in all kinds of income-generating properties — residences, offices, hotels, malls, warehouses, in India the listed REITs are focussed mainly on office space.

As per SEBI’s guidelines, REITs need to mandatorily distribute 90 per cent of their income to unit-holders. The distribution could be in the form of dividend or interest income or both.

Solution: a)

The summer solstice is the day with the longest period of daylight. It occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, or more specifically right over 23.5 degree north latitude.

Why do we have summer solstice?

Since Earth rotates on its axis, the Northern Hemisphere gets more direct sunlight between March and September over the course of a day, which also means people living in the Northern Hemisphere experience summer during this time. The rest of the year, the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight.

During the solstice, the Earth’s axis — around which the planet spins, completing one turn each day — is tilted in a way that the North Pole is tipped towards the sun and the South Pole is away from it.

The solstice, as NASA puts it, is that instant in time when the North Pole points more directly toward the sun that at any other time during the year.

The amount of light received by a specific area in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer solstice depends on the latitudinal location of the place. The further north one moves from the equator, the more light one receives during the summer solstice. At the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets during the solstice.

Solution: a)

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) announced an Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) project that is aimed at curbing “digital monopolies”. This is a step in the direction of making e-commerce processes open source, thus creating a platform that can be utilised by all online retailers.

It will make the e-commerce ecosystem open source, which means allowing sellers to be discoverable across multiple platforms for a wider reach to customers instead of available to customers on only one particular e-commerce platform, will help democratize digital commerce much like Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Solution: c)

UV-A rays can penetrate the middle layer of your skin or the dermis and can cause aging of skin cells and indirect damage to cells’ DNA. UV-C radiation from man-made sources has been known to cause skin burns and eye injuries.

UV-C radiation (wavelength around 254 nm) has been used for decades to disinfect the air in hospitals, laboratories, and also in water treatment.