[Mission 2023] Current Affairs Quiz ,3 December 2022

Solution: b)

Emergency financial powers were granted to the armed forces by the Defence Ministry in the past on three occasions, post the Uri surgical strikes in 2016, the Balakot air strike in 2019 and the 2020 standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.

Under the FTP route, the forces can procure weapons systems upto ₹300 crores on an “urgent basis without any further clearances to cut short the procurement cycle.

Such acquisitions are applicable for both indigenous sources and ex-import.

FTP acquisitions can be categorised as under.

. Procurement of equipment already inducted into Service.

. Procurement of new equipment.

. Procurement of weapon system/platform, which is in service in a friendly foreign country and is available for transfer/lease or sale.

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Solution: b)

Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commissioners

The CEC and ECs are appointed by the President to a tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as judges of the Supreme Court of India.

The Election Commission of India draws its authority from the Constitution itself. Under Article 324, the powers of “superintendence, direction and control of elections” is to be vested in an Election Commission.

Size of the Election Commission

• The Constitution does not fix the size of the Election Commission. Article 324(2) says that “the Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix”.
• From the beginning, the Election Commission of India consisted of just the Chief Election Commissioner. However, on October 16, 1989, the government appointed two more Election Commissioners, making the Election Commission a multi-member body.

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Solution: c)

The Election Commission recently told the Supreme Court that “there is no express provision which bars associations with religious connotations to register as political parties under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act-1951”.

The EC generally does not have the power to deregister political parties, something which it has proposed as an electoral reform to the government many times.

On the issue of symbols, the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 bars parties from having symbols with religious or communal connotations.

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Solution: d)

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection similar to smallpox.

The monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus, which is a genus of viruses that also includes the variola virus, which causes smallpox, and the vaccinia virus, which was used in the smallpox vaccine. Monkeypox causes symptoms similar to smallpox, although they are less severe.

Monkeypox is a zoonosis, that is, a disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans.

Human-to-human transmission is limited. Transmission, when it occurs, can be through contact with bodily fluids, lesions on the skin or internal mucosal surfaces, such as in the mouth or throat, respiratory droplets and contaminated objects, the WHO says.

Solution: b)

The MTP Act, first enacted in 1971 and then amended in 2021, certainly makes ‘medical termination of pregnancy’ legal in India under specific conditions. However, this Act is framed from a legal standpoint to primarily protect medical practitioners because under the Indian Penal Code, “induced miscarriage” is a criminal offence. This premise points to a lack of choice and bodily autonomy of women and rests the decision of abortion solely on the doctor’s opinion. The MTP Act also only mentions ‘pregnant woman’, thus failing to recognise that transgender persons and others who do not identify as women can become pregnant.

The MTP Act does not recognise abortion as a choice, they need the approval of medical professionals even in the first few weeks of the pregnancy.