[MISSION 2024] RTM(Revision through MCQs)- 8 July 2023

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Basic structure of constitution is not defined in constitution.
• The basic structure doctrine:
  • It is a judicial creation enunciated by the SC in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973).
  • A 13-judge Constitution Bench of the SC (with a 7-6 majority) redefined the relationship between Parliament and the Constitution by ruling that the “basic structure” of the Constitution is inviolable, and cannot be amended by Parliament.
  • While the Parliament had vast powers to amend the Constitution, certain parts (“basic structure”) are so inherent and intrinsic to the Constitution that even Parliament cannot touch it.
  • While parliamentary democracy, fundamental rights, judicial review, and secularism are all held by courts as basic structures, the list is not exhaustive (decided by the court on a case-by-case basis).
  • The basic structure doctrine (origins are found in the German Constitution) has formed the bedrock of judicial review of all laws passed by the Indian Parliament.
• Minerva Mills Ltd. and Ors. v. Union Of India and Ors. is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that applied and evolved the basic structure doctrine of the Constitution of India.
  • The 42nd Amendment Act accorded the position of legal primacy and supremacy to the Directive Principles over the Fundamental Rights conferred by Articles 14, 19 and 31. However, this extension was declared as unconstitutional and invalid by the Supreme Court in the Minerva Mills case.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/due-process-clause-and-the-basic-structure-doctrine/

Ans: (c )

Explanation:

• Privacy is a constitutionally protected right which emerges primarily from the guarantee of life and personal liberty in Article 21 of the Constitution. Elements of privacy also arise in varying contexts from the other facets of freedom and dignity recognized and guaranteed by the fundamental rights contained in Part III.

Refre: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/data-protection-bill-content-concerns/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Shallow earthquakes are generally more devastating because they carry greater energy when they emerge on the surface. Deeper earthquakes lose much of their energy by the time they come to the surface. The deeper quakes spread farther — the seismic waves move radially upwards to the surface — even as they lose energy while travelling greater distances, and hence cause less damage.
• The earthquake magnitude scale gives a measure of the energy released, although the reading in itself is not of energy. Rather, it takes into account amplitude or ‘size’ of the seismic waves released, and variations in distance between various seismographs and the earthquake epicenter. Thus, it is a dimensionless number — with no physical units.

Refre: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/data-protection-bill-content-concerns/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Seismic waves are the vibrations from earthquakes that travel through the Earth; they are recorded on instruments called seismographs. Seismographs record a zig-zag trace that shows the varying amplitude of ground oscillations beneath the instrument. Sensitive seismographs, which greatly magnify these ground motions, can detect strong earthquakes from sources anywhere in the world. The time, location, and magnitude of an earthquake can be determined from the data recorded by seismograph stations.
• S waves shadow zone extend from 105⁰. P wave shadow zone extends between 105⁰ to 145⁰. Beyond 145⁰ only P waves are received
• At seismic station first waves to arrive are P waves. Then S waves and in the last the surface waves.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/2200-earthquakes-in-iceland-in-24-hours/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• All natural earthquakes take place in the lithosphere.
• Earthquake waves are basically of two types — body waves and surface waves. Body waves are generated due to the release of energy at the focus and move in all directions travelling through the body of the earth. The body waves interact with the surface rocks and generate new set of waves called surface waves. These waves move along the surface. The velocity of waves changes as
• they travel through materials with different densities. The denser the material, the higher is the velocity.
• The surface waves are the last to report on seismograph. These waves are more destructive. They cause displacement of rocks, and hence, the collapse of structures occurs.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/2200-earthquakes-in-iceland-in-24-hours/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The correct answer is (D) All of the above. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a long, underwater mountain range that runs down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the site of new oceanic crust formation, as magma rises from the mantle and cools to form new rock. The rocks on the ridge are getting older as they move away from the ridge, because they are being carried away from the source of new crust formation.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/2200-earthquakes-in-iceland-in-24-hours/

Ans: (c)

Explanation: About Permanent Court of Arbitration:

• Established in 1899. An international intergovernmental institute has been established in order to resolve disputes between states.
• The PCA has a three-part organisational structure that includes the Administrative Council, which oversees its policies and finances, Members of the Court, a panel of independent prospective arbitrators, and the International Bureau, which is led by the Secretary-General.
• It has a Financial Assistance Fund, which attempts to assist poor nations in meeting a portion of the expenses associated with international arbitration or other forms of dispute resolution offered by the PCA.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/permanent-court-of-arbitration/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Statement 1: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). It is not under EU. So, 1 is wrong.
• Statement 2 and 3: The OPCW Member States share the collective goal of preventing chemistry from ever again being used for warfare, thereby strengthening international security.
  • To this end, the Convention contains four key provisions:
  • destroying all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCW;
  • monitoring chemical industry to prevent new weapons from re-emerging;
  • providing assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical threats; and
  • fostering international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the Convention and promote the peaceful use of chemistry.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/u-s-destroys-last-of-its-declared-chemical-weapons/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Context: Recently, UNCTAD released the World Investment Report 2023.
• About World Investment Report:
  • The World Investment Report focuses on trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) worldwide, at the regional and country levels and emerging measures to improve its contribution to development.
  • It also provides an analysis of global value chains and the operations of multinational enterprises, with special attention to their development implications.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/world-investment-report/

Ans: (c )

Explanation: What are Gravitational Waves?

• Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space and time that travel at the speed of light. They are created by the motion of massive objects, such as black holes or neutron stars, which generate gravitational waves when they orbit or collide with each other.
• According to Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, any object with mass warps the space-time around it. When two massive objects orbit each other or collide, they produce ripples or waves in space-time that propagate outward at the speed of light.
• Gravitational waves are extremely weak and difficult to detect. They were first directly detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in 2015, a century after they were predicted by Einstein’s theory.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/07/08/ligo-india-2/