February 01-02 2024 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The post is not mentioned in the Constitution of India.
• Article 163(1) of the Constitution state that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions.
• Neither Article 163 nor Article 164 or sub clauses of the Articles mentions a deputy Chief minister.

Statement 2 is correct

• The post of Deputy CM is understood as being equivalent in rank to that of Cabinet Minister (in the state).
• The Deputy CM enjoys the same pay and perks as a Cabinet Minister.
• The post is second-in-command after the chief minister in the State Government.

Statement 3 is correct

• At least 13 other states in the country apart from Bihar currently have Deputy CMs.
• The appointment and removal of Deputy CM is entirely at the discretion of Chief Minister.
• Chief Minister can appoint more than one Deputy CM.
• The highest of these is in Andhra Pradesh, with Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy having 5 Deputy CMs.
• The first Deputy CM in India was Anugrah Narayan Sinha.

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• A Ramsar site is a wetland that has been designated as being of international importance.
• The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
• It is named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the Caspian Sea, where the treaty was signed on February 2, 1971.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The Ramsar sites are maintained in the Montreux Record to track any major ecological changes that might affect any of the wetland sites positively or in a reverse way.
• The Ramsar convention entered into force in India on 1 February 1982.
• India currently has 80 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), this is the highest in South Asia.
• The total number of Ramsar sites in Tamil Nadu is 16, highest in India.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Renuka Wetland (0.2 sq. km) of Himachal Pradesh is the smallest Ramsar Site in India, followed by Chandertal Wetland (0.49 sq. km) in Himachal Pradesh.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• The countries with the most Sites are the United Kingdom with 175 and Mexico with 142.
• The United Kingdom has the most number of Ramsar sites in the earth.
• The world’s first Ramsar Site was the Cobourg Peninsula in Australia, designated in 1974.
• The largest Site is Rio Negro in Brazil (120,000 square kilometres), which is followed by Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Queen Maud Gulf in Canada.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• District Agromet Units (DAMUs) are units established at Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) to provide block level Agro-Met (agrometeorological) Advisory Services (AAS) for farmers.
• They are the only units involved in rendering Agro-met (agrometeorological) advisory services at a district or block level.
• They are established by:
  • India Meteorological Department (IMD) under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
  • Indian Institute of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under the agriculture ministry.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The funding agency is Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) or India Meteorological Department (IMD).
• Till date, 199 District Agro-met Units (DAMUs) have been established at KVKs across the country under ICAR network.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• DAMUs were set up in 2018-19 in the premises of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) of ICAR and state agriculture universities, under the Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva (GKMS) scheme.
• They have played an important role in providing value added weather forecast data for the next five days with crop specific weather advisory messages.

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Transparency International released the annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2023.
• CPI lists countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.

Statement 2 is correct

• Each country’s score is a combination of at least 3 data sources drawn from 13 different corruption surveys and assessments.
• These data sources are collected by a variety of reputable institutions, including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
• A country’s score is the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.
• A country’s rank is its position relative to the other countries in the index, i.e. ranks can change merely if the number of countries included in the index changes.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• The score of India in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2022 was 40.
• India scored 39 and ranked 93, with minimal change from 2022, indicating a relative stability in score.
• Though India’s rank has improved, however, fluctuations are too small to indicate significant change.
• India shares its ranking with Maldives.
• 71% of the countries across Asia and the Pacific have a CPI score below the regional average score of 45.
• The global average score remains stuck at 43 for the 12th year, indicating widespread public sector corruption.
• Over 2/3rd of countries has scores below 50.
• Most transparent such as Denmark (90), Finland (87), New Zealand (85) lead the index.

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Home Minister Amit Shah, last April, launched Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative’s (IFFCO’s) Nano DAP, containing 8% Nitrogen and 16% Phosphorus by volume.
• Unlike conventional DAP, which comes in granular form, IFFCO’s Nano DAP is in liquid form.
• This tiny particle size makes Nano DAP more efficient than its conventional counterpart.
• This enables the fertilizer to enter easily inside the seed surface or through stomata and other plant openings.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• DAP, or di-ammonium phosphate, is the second most used fertiliser in India after urea.
• It is high in phosphorus (P) that stimulates root establishment and development, without which plants cannot grow to their normal size, or will take too long to mature.
• It is thus applied just before, or at the time of sowing.
• Nano DAP is more pocket-friendly than its conventional counterpart.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• India’s first Nano DAP Plant is located in Kalol (Gandhinagar), Gujarat.

Answer: (a) 1 Only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The portal is developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), an R&D organization under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Statement 2 is correct

• C-CARES is the web portal for Coal Mines Provident Fund Organization (CMPFO), an autonomous organization working under aegis of the Ministry of Coal.
• CMPFO was established in the year 1948 for administering Provident Fund and Pension schemes for the purpose of providing social security to the coal sector workers.

Statement 3 is correct

• The portal marks a significant leap in the digitization journey of CMPFO aiming to address the long-standing issue of digitizing its records and work processes.
• With launch of the portal, settlement of PF and pension claims will now be processed and settled online.
• It will facilitate faster processing, transparency in operations, better record management and monitoring.
• It will also instill confidence in the subscribers and pensioners.
• At present, CMPFO process settlement claims of Provident Fund subscribers and pensioners manually.

Answer: (c) All; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The lake is a manmade freshwater lake created during Kadamba Dynasty and was originally intended for the irrigation of the surrounding paddy (rice) fields.
• The abundant vegetation around it, as well as the marshy land soon made it a haven for various species of herbivorous birds, some of whom make this their home all year round whilst others are more migratory.
• The lake gets its water supply only from rainwater.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• This peaceful and serene lake is counted now not just as one of the pleasant locations for bird watching in Goa, additionally one of the first-class locations in India for hen watching.
• The birds right here are of the aquatic and terrestrial kind and even though they are in most cases herbivorous, there are additionally some avian fishers amongst them.

Answer: (a) 1 Only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Bluetongue (BT) is an infectious, non-contagious and arthropod transmitted viral disease of domestic and wild ruminants, caused by BT virus (BTV) that belongs to the genus Orbivirus and family Reoviridae.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• It is transmitted by insects (biting midges of the Culicoides species), not by animal to animal.
• It can lead to deaths, weight loss and disruption in wool growth.

Answer: (a) 1 Only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• There is no constitutional provision for an interim budget.
• Hence, the Centre chooses to seek the Lower House’s approval for the funds required for the transition period (April-July) till the new government presents a full Budget, via the votes on account provision.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• In an interim budget, the Finance Minister presents the current state of the Indian economy, its fiscal status including India’s revised estimated growth in the next year.
• While the Centre has to desist from announcing any major scheme which could influence voters or present an Economic Survey, the government is allowed to revise tax rates via an interim budget.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• The interim budget too is presented to both Houses on February 1 by the finance minister, put to vote and then sent for Presidential approval.
• Like the Union budget, the interim budget too is debated in the Lok Sabha before passage and is valid for the entire year though it is merely a transition arrangement.

Answer: (d) None; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• They are differentiated, and not universal banks.
• These operate on a smaller scale.
• It is registered as a public limited company under the Companies Act 2013 and licensed under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act 1949.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The minimum paid-up equity capital for payments banks shall be 100 crores.
• The minimum initial contribution of the promoter to the Payment Bank to the paid-up equity capital shall be at least 40% for the first five years from the commencement of its business.

Statement 3 is correct

• It can take deposits up to Rs. 2,00,000.
• It can accept demand deposits in the form of savings and current accounts.
• It cannot issue loans and credit cards.
• It cannot accept time deposits or NRI deposits.

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Medium