[MISSION 2024] RTM(Revision through MCQs)- 21 February 2024

Ans: (c )

Explanation:

• Context: The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are collaborating on a project to monitor rip currents more effectively to enhance beach safety.
• About Rip Currents:
  • A rip current is a strong, narrow flow of water moving directly away from the shore, cutting through the lines of breaking waves.
  • They pose a significant risk to beachgoers who might inadvertently enter one and attempt to swim directly back to shore, a response that can lead to exhaustion and, in the worst cases, drowning.
  • It’s crucial to distinguish rip currents from rip tides, with the latter relating to tidal movements through narrow coastal features and not the shore-directed flow of rip currents.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/rip-currents/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S3: the Ministry of Environment notified that states which have forest land of more than 75% of their geographical area need not provide non-forest land for compensatory afforestation. Instead, land can be taken up in states with lesser forest cover. Further, it was also notified that the minimum area of compensatory land should be five hectares if the land is not contiguous to a forest.
• S1: According to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, each time forest land is diverted, the project proponent has to pay the state to undertake plantation and for the ecosystem services lost due to diverting forest land, called Net Present Value (NPV). Whenever forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes, it is mandatory under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 that an equivalent area of non-forest land has to be taken up for compensatory afforestation.
• S2: As per the rules, 90% of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund money is to be given to the states while 10% is to be retained by the Centre.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/sc-tn-godavarman-ruling/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: Preservation of forest areas in India under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 has been continuously monitored by the Supreme Court since the Godavarman case judgment in 1996.
• S2: While the concept of deemed forests has not been clearly defined in any law including the Forest Conservation Act of 1980.
• S3: Deemed forests, which comprise about 1% of India’s forest land, are a controversial subject as they refer to land tracts that appear to be a “forest”, but have not been notified so by the government or in historical records.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/sc-tn-godavarman-ruling/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Context: Six universities in Uttar Pradesh have each been awarded ₹100 crore in funding under the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) scheme, aimed at developing these institutions as multi-disciplinary education and research universities (MERUs).
• The Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) scheme is a National Education Policy RUSA scheme that aims to strengthen higher education institutions in India. The scheme has two phases, with the first launched in 2013 and the second in 2018.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/pm-usha-scheme/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Only statement 3 is correct.
• Context: Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal to raise reporting limits for new policy-related expenditures by ministries/departments.
• S1: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a committee of selected members of parliament, constituted by the Parliament of India, for the purpose of auditing the revenue and the expenditure of the Government of India. They check that parliament exercises over the executive stems from the basic principle that parliament embodies the will of the people.
• S2: It serves as a check on the government especially with respect to its expenditure bill and its primary function is to examine the audit report of Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) after it is laid in Parliament. C&AG assists the committee during the course of the investigation.
• S3: None of its members are allowed to be ministers in the government. The main function of the committee is to ascertain whether the money granted by parliament has been spent by the government within the scope of the demand.
• The Public Accounts Committee consists of not more than twenty-two members, fifteen elected by Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, and not more than seven members of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament. The members are elected every year from amongst its members of respective houses according to the principle of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The chairperson is appointed by the Lok Sabha speaker. The term of office of the members is one year.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/government-proposes-hike-in-ministries-financial-reporting-limits/

Ans: (c )

Explanation:

• The Estimates Committee (India)is a committee of selected members of parliament, constituted by the Parliament of India (the Lok Sabha), for the purpose of scrutinizing the functioning of government ministries and departments in terms of expenditure and utilization of funds.
• It also suggests alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in administration.
• It also examines whether the finances are laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates and also to suggest the form in which the estimates shall be presented to Parliament. This committee along with the Public Accounts committee (PAC) and Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) are the three financial standing committees of the Parliament of India.
• The committee consists of thirty members, all elected from Lok Sabha. There are no members from Rajya Sabha.

Rfer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/government-proposes-hike-in-ministries-financial-reporting-limits/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• It is a Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution. Established in 1965 under the Food Corporations Act 1964, FCI was created to address significant grain shortages, particularly in wheat. It operates alongside the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which recommends fair prices to farmers. FCI’s main responsibilities include purchasing, storing, transporting, distributing, and selling food grains and other essential food items.
• Its top official is designated as Chairman and Managing Director, who is a central government civil servant of the IAS cadre. It was set up in 1965 with its initial headquarters at Chennai. Later this was moved to New Delhi.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/authorised-capital-of-food-cooperation-of-india-fci/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• APEDA is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the following scheduled products:
  • Fruits, Vegetables and their Products.
  • Meat and Meat Products.
  • Poultry and Poultry Products.
  • Dairy Products.
  • Confectionery, Biscuits and Bakery Products.
  • Honey, Jaggery and Sugar Products.
  • Cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds.
  • Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages.
  • Cereal and Cereal Products.
  • Groundnuts, Peanuts and Walnuts.
  • Pickles, Papads and Chutneys.
  • Guar Gum.
  • Floriculture and Floriculture Products.
  • Herbal and Medicinal Plants.
  • De –oiled rice bran.
  • Green pepper in brine.
  • Cashew Nuts and Its Products.
  • Basmati Rice has been included in the Second Schedule of APEDA Act.
• In addition to this, APEDA has been entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the import of sugar as well.
  • APEDA also functions as the Secretariat to the National Accreditation Board (NAB) for implementation of accreditation of the Certification Bodies under National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) for organic exports. “Organic Products” for export are to be certified only if Produced, Processed and Packed as per the standards laid down in the document – “National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).”

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/authorised-capital-of-food-cooperation-of-india-fci/

Ans: (c )

Explanation:

• Context: The financial assistance for India’s rubber sector has been increased by 23% for the fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26 under the ‘Sustainable & Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector’ initiative.
• vulcanization, a chemical process by which the physical properties of natural or synthetic rubber are improved; finished rubber has higher tensile strength and resistance to swelling and abrasion, and is elastic over a greater range of temperatures.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/rubber-sector/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Context: The European Union launched a naval mission named Mission Aspides to protect shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who claim solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
• The countries that border Red Sea are:
  • Egypt to the west and north, and
  • Sudan, Djibouti, and Eritrea to the west.
  • Yemen and Saudi Arabia in the East.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/21/red-sea-mission-aspides/