December 19 2023 Current Affairs MCQs

• The Global Cooling Watch Report by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) demonstrates the potential and the pathways to achieve near-zero emissions from cooling. Using a model created specifically for this report, it presents pathways to get to near-zero emissions in the key cooling sectors and provides a call to action for countries to pursue the policies and strategies that have the greatest impact in reducing cooling-related emissions and advancing sustainable cooling for all.
• Recently, the Global Cooling Watch 2023 Report titled “Keeping it Chill: How to meet cooling demands while cutting emissions” was released.
• Increasing energy efficiency, protecting natural carbon sinks, and Developing carbon capture and storage technologies, are part of the key strategy outlined in the Global Cooling Pledge.

Answer: (c) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Indian Forest & Wood Certification scheme offers voluntary third-party certification designed to promote sustainable forest management and agroforestry in the country.
• The scheme includes forest management certification, tree outside forest management certification and chain of custody certification.

Statement 2 is correct

• It provides market incentives to various entities that adhere to responsible forest management and agroforestry practices in their operations.
• This includes state forest departments, individual farmers, or Farmer Producer Organizations engaged in agroforestry and farm forestry, as well as other wood-based industries in the value chain.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
• It will be overseen by the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Council, which will act as a multi-stakeholder advisory body.
• The Council is represented by members from eminent institutions that includes
  • Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education,
  • Forest Survey of India and Quality Council of India,
  • Indian Institute of Forest Management,
  • State Forest Departments and Forest Development Corporations and
  • Representatives from wood-based industries.
• Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal will act as the scheme operating agency and will be responsible for overall management of the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme.

Statement 4 is correct

• Accreditation is a third-party attestation related to conformity assessment bodies conveying a formal demonstration of its competence to carry out specific conformity assessment tasks i.e., certification, inspection, testing, etc.
• Certification is the procedure by which a third party gives written assurance that a product, process, system, or person conforms to specified requirements

Answer: (d) 2 Only; Difficulty Level: Tough

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Indian scientific expeditions to the Earth’s poles (the Arctic and the Antarctic) are facilitated under the PACER (Polar and Cryosphere) scheme.
• The Polar Science and Cryosphere Research (PACER) scheme is an initiative of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

Statement 2 is correct

• The expeditions to the earth’s poles are carried under the aegis of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).
• NCPOR is an autonomous institution of the MoES that is located at Goa.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Since 2008, India operates a research base in the Arctic named Himadri, which has been mostly hosting scientists during the summer (April to October).
  • Bharati is a permanent Antarctic research station commissioned by India. It is India’s third Antarctic research facility and one of two active Indian research stations, alongside Maitri. India’s first committed research facility, Dakshin Gangotri, is being used as a supply base.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• India’s first winter scientific expedition to the Arctic was recently flagged by the MoES.
• The first batch of the maiden Arctic winter expedition comprises researchers from:
  • National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR)
  • Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi
  • Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune
  • Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru.
• This expedition will aid in expanding understanding of the Arctic, especially climate change, space weather, sea-ice and ocean circulation dynamics, ecosystem adaptations and so on.
• Arctic is an area of scientific, climatic, and strategic importance that plays a vital role in addressing areas that affect life and survival on this planet.

Answer: (d) 1 and 2 ; Difficulty level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• NSFDC was set up as the National Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSCSTFDC) in 1989.
• After 2001, it is solely working for the empowerment of Schedules Castes.

Statement 2 is correct

• NSCSTFDC is a fully owned GoI Company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• It is headquartered in Delhi.
• It provides financial assistance for income-generating schemes for the target group through State Channelising Agencies (SCAs).
• It also supplies funds for the economic empowerment of scheduled caste persons having annual family income up to Rs. 3.00 lakh for both rural and urban areas.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• NSCSTFDC works under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MOSJ&E).
• Its vision is to be the leading catalyst in systematic reduction of poverty through socio-economic development of eligible Scheduled Castes, working in an efficient, responsive and collaborative manner with channelizing agencies and other development partners.

Statement 4 is correct

• NSCSTFDC is governed through the Board of Directors with representation from the Central Government, State Scheduled Castes Development Corporations, Financial Institutions and non-official Scheduled Castes members.

Answer: (c) 2 and 4 ; Difficulty Level: Medium

• The Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) 2023 report was released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• LEADS is an indigenous data-driven index to assess logistics infrastructure, services, and human resources across all States and UTs.
• The 1^st report was launched in 2018 and is published annually (except in 2020 due to COVID).
• It is conceived on the lines of the Logistics Performance Index of World Bank.
• While the LPI relies entirely on perception-based surveys, LEADS incorporates both perception as well as objectivity thereby enhancing the robustness and comprehensiveness of this exercise.
• The report assesses states under 4 categories:
  • Coastal states,
  • Landlocked states,
  • North-eastern states,
  • Union Territories
• Performance Categories:
• Achievers Category: States/UTs achieving 90% or more
  • Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh and Gujarat are among the 13 states and union territories that have again been classified as “Achievers” in the Logistics Ease (LEADS) 2023.
  • Other states and union territories included in the “Achievers” category are Delhi, Assam, Haryana, Punjab, Telangana, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
• Fast Movers Category: States/UTs scoring between 80-90%
  • The report includes Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Puducherry as “fast movers”.
• Aspirers Category: States/UTs scoring less than 80 % marks have been placed in this category.
  • The “aspirational” category includes Goa, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Answer: (c) Ministry of Commerce & Industry ; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Article 82 of the Constitution states that after every Census is completed, the allocation of Lok Sabha seats to each state must be adjusted based on population changes.
• Under these provisions, an independent Delimitation Commission is to be set up once every decade to reapportion seats among states. The Commission is appointed by the President of India.
• Under Article 170 of the IC, States are divided into territorial constituencies as per the Delimitation Act after every Census.

Statement 2 is correct

• The Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India. Members of the Delimitation Commission are:
  • A retired judge of the Supreme Court
  • The Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner nominated by CEC.
  • State Election Commissioners (of the respective states)

Statement 3 is correct

• Once published, the Commission’s orders are final and, as per the Delimitation Commission Act 1952 and Article 329A of the Constitution, have the “full force of law and shall not be called into question in any court”

Answer: (b) 2 and 3; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Lagrange points are special positions in space where the gravitational forces of two large orbiting bodies, such as the Sun and the Earth, balance each other out.
• This means that a small object, such as a spacecraft, can stay at these points without using much fuel to maintain its orbit.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• L1 is considered the most significant of the Lagrange points for solar observations. A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/ eclipses.
• It is currently home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO).
• Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO), an international collaboration project of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Statement 3 is incorrect

• At the fourth stage the PSLV uses a liquid propellant to boost in the outer space. In case of Aditya L-1, The launch was conducted using the PSLV-C57 rocket. The PSLV’s fourth stage was fired twice, a first in ISRO’s history, to precisely insert the spacecraft into its elliptical orbit.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• L1, L2, and L3 points are unstable, meaning that a small perturbation can cause an object to drift away from them. Therefore, satellites orbiting these points need regular course corrections to maintain their positions.
• Objects at L4 and L5 maintain stable positions, forming an equilateral triangle with the two larger bodies.
• They are often used for space observatories, such as those studying asteroids.

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