August 06-2024 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statements 1 and 2 are incorrect

• Census in India is a decennial process started in 1872 under Lord Mayo, the then viceroy of British India, as a data source for better administrative coordination, policy planning and implementation.
• Post independence, census has been based on Census Act of 1948 and is part of union list as per Article 246 (entry 69, 7^th schedule) of Indian constitution.

Statement 3 is correct

• Census in India is managed by Registrar general and census commissioner of India under Ministry of Home Affairs.
• There were 15 censuses conducted in India since 1872.
• The last population census was in 2011 and the census of 2021, which will be 8th since independence, is yet to be scheduled by the central government.
• It also will be the first digital census, census with provision for self-enumeration and inclusion of transgender communities.

Answer: (a) Only one; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Both statements are correct

• World Lung Cancer Day was observed on August 1, highlighting that most cases in India are diagnosed at Stage 3 or 4, reducing curability and survival rates.
• Lung cancer is the most diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
• Lung cancer contributes to 10% of cancer deaths, with 81,000 cases and 75,000 deaths (2022).
• India ranks 4th globally for the number of lung cancer cases, which is expected to double by 2025.
• In north India, about 40% of lung cancer patients are non-smokers.

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Option (b) is correct

• There are no defined criteria to declare a calamity to be of a ‘severe nature’.
• Uttarakhand Floods (2013) and Cyclone Hudhud were classified as calamities of ‘severe nature’.

Option (a) is incorrect

• There is no fixed criterion to define any disaster as a national disaster.

Option (c) is incorrect

• If the calamity is of ‘severe nature’ with significant loss of life and property, and it overwhelms the State’s capabilities to respond effectively, additional Central assistance can be provided.
• However, there are no defined criteria to declare a calamity to be of a ‘severe nature’.

Answer: (b) There are no defined criteria to declare a calamity to be of a ‘severe nature’; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Option (d) is correct

• The Office of Economic Advisor under Ministry of Commerce and Industries releases Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI).
• The objective is to provide an advance indication of the production performance of core industries before the release of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) by the Central Statistics Office (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation).
• The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) hit 20-month low due to post-election spending cuts and heatwaves.
• Coal showed strong growth, while electricity, natural gas, steel, cement, and fertilizers grew more slowly, and the production of refinery products and crude oil declined.
• The 8 Core Industries are:
  1. Petroleum & Refinery production
  2. Electricity generation
  3. Steel production
  4. Coal production
  5. Crude Oil production
  6. Natural Gas production
  7. Cement production
  8. Fertilisers production

Answer: (d) The Office of Economic Advisor; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is a social security scheme guaranteeing 100 days of work to any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage.
• The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments.
• The wages are revised according to the Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL).
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 or MGNREGA
  • The act obligates the state to give rural households work on demand
  • According to Section 7(1) of MGNREGA, 2005, if a person is not employed within 15 days of applying, they are entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Under the act, priority shall be given to women, and at least one-third of the beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested work.
• The employment will be provided within a radius of 5 km. If it is >5 km, an extra wage will be paid.
• All work sites should have crèches, drinking water and first aid facilities.
• Social Audit must be done by the Gram Sabha.

Answer: (a) 1 only; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Option (b) is correct

• Soil piping is a hydraulic process in loose, uncemented soils where water flow erodes particles, creating and connecting macropores (large air-filled voids).
• This subsoil flows through pipe-like channels, leading to rapid settlement, landslides, and collapse subsidence.
• A new study claims that Kerala’s Kasaragod, Kannur, and Malappuram districts are most prone to soil piping, leading to disasters like landslides.

Answer: (b) A hydraulic process in loose, uncemented soils where water flow erodes particles, creating and connecting macropores; Difficulty Level: Medium