Weekly Current Affairs Quiz: 17/10/2022 to 22/10/2022

EXPLANATION:

• The Supreme Court recently held that women, regardless of their marital status, are entitled to safe and legal abortion until 24 weeks of pregnancy. The apex court held that any differentiation between a married or unmarried woman under abortion law was “artificial and constitutionally unsustainable”. It held that abortion for unmarried and single woman whose pregnancies are between 20 to 24 weeks cannot be denied. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 does not allow abortion for unmarried pregnant women between 20 to 24 weeks after consensual sex. The court held that Rule 3B of the MTP Act is unconstitutional since it deprives unmarried women the right to access safe and legal abortions after 20 weeks if they face a change in their maternal circumstances similar to married women. Rule 3B gives only rape survivors, minors, women whose married status changed during the pregnancy, mentally-ill women or women with foetal malformation the right to abortion. If the pregnancy involved consensual sex, termination of pregnancy is allowed only until 20 weeks. This distinction was held by the Supreme Court as a violation of the Right to Equality. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The bench held that the right of reproductive autonomy, dignity and privacy is provided by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. This provides unmarried women the right to choose whether or not to bear a child, just as married women do. This judgement is significant as it is the first ever legal recognition of marital rape, although within the limited purview of abortion. The SC held that the meaning of rape should also include marital rape, solely for the purpose of the MTP Act and related rules. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Switzerland topped the Global Innovation Index for the 12th consecutive year. It leads the world in innovation outputs and specifically in patents by origin, software spending, high-tech manufacturing and production as well as export complexity. The second position was held by the United States, followed by Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The ranking of the most innovative economies takes into consideration infrastructure and technology outputs, human and capital research, business sophistication etc. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The Global Innovation Index 2022 was released recently by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the specialized agencies of the UN. It is involved in the promotion and protection of intellectual properties at the international level through collaborations with governments and international organizations. It started operating in 1970 after the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization came into effect. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• India has climbed 6 positions to 40th rank in the GII due to improvements in several parameters. India’s performance is above average among the upper middle-income countries group in almost all innovation pillars, with exception to infrastructure, where the country scored below average. India is the top performer among the South Asian countries. It is the innovation leader in the lower middle-income group and it continues to lead the world in the information and communication technology (ICT) services exports. It is the top performer in indicators like venture capital receipt value, finance for startups and scaleups, graduates in science and engineering, labor productivity growth and domestic industry diversification. According to the report, India and Turkey entered the top 40 for the first time, with Turkiye being ranked at 37th position. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The Indian Tourism Statistics 2022 report was released by the Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar on the occasion of World Tourism Day (September 27, 2022). The top 15 countries that sourced foreign tourist arrivals to India were the US, Bangladesh, the UK, Canada, Nepal, Afghanistan, Australia, Germany, Portugal, France, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Russia, Iraq and the Netherlands. These countries accounted for around 80.9 per cent of the total foreign tourist arrivals in India. Foreign exchange earnings from the tourism sector in India in 2021 were USD 8.797 billion, which is a 26.4 percent increase from 2020. Hence, statement 1 is  correct.
• The union tourism ministry’s report revealed that Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu witnessed the highest number of visits by foreign tourists in 2021.Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in India in 2021 has fallen to 1.52 million. This is a 44.5 percent decline when compared with the 2.74 million in 2020. India witnessed 677.63 million domestic tourist visits in 2021. This is a 11.05 per cent increase from 2020’s figures. Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Qutub Minar are the top 3 most visited sites in India in 2021-22. Taj Mahal reported 3.29 million visits or 12.65 per cent of total footfall in 2021-22 from domestic visitors. Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu was the most visited centrally-protected monument by foreigners in 2021-22. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• In 2021-22, the total number of domestic visitors recorded a 98 per cent year-on-year growth. The total number of foreign visitors to the country during the same period declined by 23.4 percent on year. While the foreign tourist arrivals recorded a negative growth rate in 2021, non-resident Indians and international tourist arrivals witnessed positive growth. The arrivals of NRIs increased 52.6 percent from 2020 to 2021. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• TamiraSES project is being jointly implemented to restore the Thamirabarani river. The TamiraSES project is jointly implemented by the district administration of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru-based NGO Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). The project involves the use of a “hyper-local” approach to restore one Thamirabarani river. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Its objective is to restore the social ecological systems of the Thamirabarani river’s riverscape, covering head-waters, estuaries and surrounding areas to enable the native conditions of the biodiversity to thrive. It will restore Thamirabarani as well as all the water bodies in the riverscape. Under the first phase of this project, five social ecological observatories will be set up. These will act as pilots to help the project expand further. This phase will be limited to the borders of Tirunelveli district. It was launched as an experimental project since it focuses mainly on community engagement instead of relying solely on technical and nature-based solutions as was done in national and international river restoration projects. Hence, statement 2 is correct. 
• The Thamirabarani river originates from Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills in Western Ghats. It is the only perennial river in Tamil Nadu. Its source is the confluence of the tributaries of Kodayar River – Kothai and Madhumalai. This 128 km-long perennial river flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It drains into the Gulf of Mannar – a shallow bay that forms part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. Thus, it originates and ends in Tamil Nadu. Hence, statement 3 is  not  correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The Asian Development Bank announced a $14 billion assistance to fight food insecurity in Asia Pacific. The funding to address food insecurity in Asia Pacific was announced as part of the 55th ADB annual meeting. This comprehensive initiative will ensure long-term food security in Asia and Pacific by strengthening food systems and making them resilient to climate crisis and biodiversity degradation. The latest funding would complement the existing aids targeting food security in the region. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It will be used to combat the food crisis caused by climate change and Russian war in Ukraine. The financial aid will be provided for the period of 2022-2025. While 3.3 billion USD will be spent in 2022, 10.7 billion USD will be used from 2023 to 2025. In 2022, USD 2.5 billion of this assistance will be used to repurpose and strengthen the existing projects and launch new projects in agriculture, natural resources and rural development. 800 million USD will be used by the private sector for finance operations of trade and supply chain, direct agribusiness lending, microfinancing programmes and lending to financial institutions. Food security situation in Asia Pacific. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Asian Development Bank is a Manila-based regional development bank established in 1966. Its aim is to promote the social and economic development of Asia and the Pacific. It is owned by 68 members, of which 49 are from Asia Pacific region. Hence, statement 3 is not  correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The Swachh Toycathon Competition was recently launched by the Central Government. About the National Action Plan for Toys (NAPT), 2020. Swachh Toycathon was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav. It is being hosted on MyGov’s Innovate India portal. The objective of this competition is to promote innovation and circularity in design and packaging of games and toys. It also seeks to promote prototypes of toys and packaging that can revolutionize the toy industry. It also looks for ideas or working models for a sustainable and climate-friendly toy value chain like innovative material choices, packaging design and reuse-reshare models. Hence, statement 1 is  not correct.
• The knowledge partner of this initiative is Center for Creative Learning, IIT Gandhinagar. This competition integrates the National Action Plan for Toys (NAPT) and Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II to explore solutions to make toys using waste materials. This competition is open to groups and individuals capable of providing innovative toy designs using dry wastes. The focus will be on efficient designs that can be replicated for mass production. Hence, statement 2 is  not correct. 
• The National Action Plan for Toys (NAPT) 2020 was unveiled by the Indian Government to promote the domestic toy industry, which includes traditional handicrafts, handmade toys and others. Its end goal is to make India an international hub for toy manufacturing. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and 14 other ministries are involved in the implementation of various aspects of this action plan. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• TamiraSES project is being jointly implemented to restore the Thamirabarani river.
• The REC Ltd., is the 12th company to be given the Maharatna Status. The Maharatna status provides the state-run company’s board more power while making financial decisions. The board of a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise can make equity investments to be involved in financial joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries and undertake mergers and acquisitions in India and abroad. This power is limited to a ceiling of 15 percent of the net worth of CPSE concerned, limited to Rs.5,000 crore in one project. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• This comes at a time when the Central Government is planning to give REC the status of development finance institution to enable it to boost global climate funding and net zero investment in India. Introduced in 2010, the Maharatna status is given to the CPSEs by the Central Government to make these enterprises global giants.  This status is granted to CPSE that recorded more than Rs. 5,000 crore of net profit for three consecutive years, an average annual turnover of Rs.25,000 crore for three years and recording an average net worth of Rs.15,000 crore for three years. It should also have footing in the international market and be listed on an Indian stock exchange. Hence, statement 2 is  not correct.
• The non-banking finance company (NBFC) REC Ltd. was incorporated in 1969. Its purpose is to focus on the development and financing of India’s power sector. It provides financial aid to state electricity boards, state governments, central or state utilities, independent power producers, rural electric cooperatives and private sector utilities. In FY22, it had made its highest ever net profit of Rs.10,046 crore and reached a net worth of Rs. 50,986 crore. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Indian Railways is installing Real-Time Train Information System (RTIS) to automatically track train movements in real-time. The RTIS was jointly developed by the Indian Railways and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It is currently being executed by the Center for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), an organization under the Railways Ministry that designs, develops, implements and maintains most of the important information systems of the Indian Railways. 
• The RTIS-enabled trains are equipped with an application software that can determine train movement events like arrival, departure, run-through stations etc., based on predefined logic applied to spatial coordinates. Hence, statement 1 is correct. 
• The train speed is received continuously from the GSAT satellites having GPS Aided GAGAN receiver. ISRO launched the GSAT satellites having GAGAN payloads for tracking the real-time movement of trains and relying the information down to the Central Location Server (CLS) of CRIS, which then transmits to the National Train Enquiry System (NTES). The NTES transfers this information to the public information dissemination systems in websites, mobile applications, 139 railway helpline numbers and others. Hence, statement 2 is correct. 
• GAGAN is an acronym for GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation. It is a Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS) jointly developed by ISRO and AAI to provide the best possible navigational services over Indian FIR (Flight Information Region) with the capability of expanding to neighboring FIRs. Hence, statement 3  is not  correct. 

EXPLANATION:

• The Food Barons 2022 report released ahead of the Committee on World Food Security. Canada-based global research firm ETC Group. It was created based on the 2020 sales and analysis of three annual reports of several agro-food companies. The report revealed that large corporations have profited from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and war. Small-scale operators in the food sector are adversely impacted because of the strategies used by agri-food giants to consolidate and expand their dominion over global food systems. Food prices are surging because of the structural inequality and corporate concentration in this sector. Hence, statement 1  is correct
• The report titled “Food Barons 2022 — Crisis Profiteering, Digitalization and Shifting Power”. Walmart receives 30 percent of consumer spending across the world. The Indian companies are not among the top 10 meat companies or in the global grocery retail sector. Small grocery stores are currently dominating the retail market in the country. India currently has over 20 million grocery stores or kirana stores. During the pandemic, these stores have been digitized to retain the customer base. Currently, big corporations like Amazon, Walmart, Reliance and others are looking to consolidate these kirana stores into a single value chain. India’s retail market is expected to grow nearly 1.5 trillion USD by 2030 and these corporations are looking to profit from it. Hence, statement 2  is correct.
• According to this report, India’s major food delivery platforms have been ranked among top 10 e-commerce-based food delivery companies. The top 3 performers in this sector are a Chinese food platform named Meituan, Deliveroo in the UK and Uber Eats in the US. In the majority of countries across the globe, the delivery workers are treated as independent contractors and not employees, making them ineligible for social security, personal injury, settlements and other benefits.Several governments are looking to reform their labor laws to address this trend. New York became the first city to pass a law to regulate the food delivery sector, mandating minimum pay and social security for gig workers. Hence, statement 3  is  not correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA) was formed at the Globoil Summit organized in Agra on September 21. The APOA brings together the apex edible oil industry associations from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, which are the major importers of palm oil. The newly formed alliance would protect the economic and business interests of palm oil importing countries and create a level playing field for all fats and oils used in food, feed and oleo-chemicals in Asia. Hence, statement 1  is correct.
• Atul Chaturvedi, Director of Adani Wilmar Ltd and President of SEA, was elected as the first chairman of the alliance during the first general body meeting. The secretariat of the APOA would initially be managed by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA). It aims to create collective bargaining power and make imports sustainable. It will also work towards boosting consumption of sustainable palm oil in member countries. The alliance will act as a forum for discussing common problems, interests and aspirations of the global palm oil industry and significantly boost demand for palm oil through awareness creation. Hence, statement 2  is correct.
• Asia currently accounts for 40 per cent of global palm oil consumption and Europe accounts for 12 per cent of palm oil trade. The alliance is expected to be further expanded to include major producers of oil, like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The next meeting of the AOPA is expected to be held in Indonesia in 2023. India is the largest palm oil importer in Asia. It imports around 13 to 14 million tonnes of palm oil each year. About 8 million tonnes of palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia. Other oils like soya and sunflower come from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia. India accounts for 15 percent of global imports. Other top importers are China, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Hence, statement 3  is  not correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The Indian Government announced the launch of the Innovation Roadmap of the Mission Integrated Biorefineries at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum 2022 in Pittsburgh, US. The Innovation Roadmap of the Mission Integrated Biorefineries developed using co-leads and active inputs from Brazil, Canada, European Commission and the UK. It aims to enhance global collaboration and funding for energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) during the next five years. Hence, statement 1  is correct.
• Integrated Biorefineries Mission is a joint initiative of India and the Netherlands, with the inclusion of Brazil and Canada as core members and the UK and the European Commission as supporting members. It aims to develop and demonstrate innovative solutions to accelerate the commercialization of integrated biorefineries. It aims to replace 10 percent of fossil fuel-based chemicals and materials with bio-based alternatives by the end of this decade. It is the sixth mission launched by Mission Innovation. Hence, statement 2  is not correct.
• Mission Innovation is an intergovernmental platform that supports RD&D to make clean energy affordable, competitive and accessible in the present decade. It was launched alongside the Paris Agreement in 2015. Its objective is to promote clean energy innovation through action-oriented cooperation. It has 23 members, including India, the Netherlands, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Denmark, the UK, US, the EC etc. These countries together provide about 90 per cent of global public investment in clean energy innovation. They have boosted their annual investments by 5.8 billion since 2015. Hence, statement 3  is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2020 was released recently by the Registrar General of India (RGI). The SRS Statistical Report 2020 revealed that there is a significant decline in infant mortality rate (IMR), Under 5 Mortality Rate (U5MR), Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) in India since 2014 and the country is currently in line towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Infant Mortality Rate has declined by 2 points to 28 per 1,000 live births in 2020 from 30 per 1,000 live births in 2019. The annual rate of decline is 6.7 per cent. The rural-urban difference has been reduced to 12 points. Hence, statement 1  is not correct.
• Under 5 mortality rate for females is higher than males. There was a decrease of 4 points in male U5MR and 3 points in female U5MR. Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka achieved the highest decline of U5MR of 5 points. The Neonatal Mortality Rate fell by 2 points from 22 per 1,000 live births in 2019 to 20 per 1,000 live births in 2020. This is an annual decline of 9.1 per cent. Hence, statement 2  is not correct.
• Six states and union territories have already attained UN SDG targets of NMR of less than 12 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030. These include Kerala (4), Delhi (9), Tamil Nadu (9), Maharashtra (11), Jammu and Kashmir (12) and Punjab (12). The SDG 3.2 seeks to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under the age of 5. Countries are currently looking to reduce neonatal mortality to at least 12 deaths per 1,000 live births and under 5 mortality rate to at least 25 deaths per 1,000 live births. Hence, statement 3  is correct.