Weekly Current Affairs: Quizzes 13/06/2022 to 18/06/2022

EXPLANATION:

• Financial Action Task Force (FATF):
• It's an inter-governmental body established on the initiative of the G7. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It is a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national reforms in response to global standards for anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• The FATF Secretariat is housed at the headquarters of the OECD in Paris. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• India is a part of it. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Commission (EC) — are also members. Hence statement 4 is incorrect.

EXPLANATION:

• Net neutrality means free and unbiased access to internet for all. To put it in simple terms, anyone from anywhere around the world should be able to access or provide services and content on the internet without any discrimination. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The government can always impose rules and regulation to ensure the observance of domestic laws. For example, Information Technology Rules 2021. This dimension is not the part of debate on Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality focus on access to some servies while denying access to competing services. For example, Jio ties up with Facebook to provide free access to it thereby denying the access to google or another social platform. Hence statement 2 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (INSPAC):
• It aims to facilitate the private player's use Indian space infrastructure. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• With this, Private companies will be provided level playing field in satellites, launches and space-based services. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Future projects for planetary exploration, outer space travel will be open for the private sector. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• It is an autonomous and single window nodal agency in the Department of Space. Hence statement 4 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Public Financial Management System (PFMS)/Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System (CPSMS):
• It tracks fund disbursement in real time and ensures that state treasuries are integrated with the Centre to ensure money is send as and when required (just in time approach). Hence statement 1 is correct.
• It provides real-time information regarding all government schemes, and on resource availability and utilisation across schemes. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• The government has set a target to integrate PFMS with all state treasuries to implement Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for welfare and scholarship schemes.
• It is administered by the Department of Expenditure and implemented by the Controller General of Accounts.

EXPLANATION:

• Agricultural Price Policy in India:
• At the beginning of the sowing season for Kharif and Rabi crops, the Government announces MSP for 23 crops that the farmer are willing to sell to the FCI for PDS and buffer stock operations.
• After harvesting, the produce is purchased at MSP by FCI.
• Then, the Grains are sold at the PDS outlets (fair price shop) at issue price.
• The difference between both - MSP and fair price- is the food subsidy. Government decides the support prices based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
• CACP defines production costs of crops under three categories — A2, A2+FL (standing for family labour) and C2.
• A2 is the actual paid-out expenses incurred by farmers — in cash and kind — on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, hired labour, fuel, irrigation and other inputs from outside. Hence option 1 is correct.
• A2+FL includes A2 cost plus an imputed value of unpaid family labour. Hence option 2 is correct.
• C2 is the most comprehensive definition as it also accounts for the rentals or interest loans, and fixed capital assets over and above A2+FL. Hence option 3 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Thailand has become the first Asian country to legalise marijuana, popularly known as cannabis. Hence option (a) is correct.
• It has been done in order to enhance the country's agriculture and tourist industries.
• It now enables the people of Thailand to produce and trade marijuana and use it for medicinal purpose.
• Canada was the first G20 country to legalise cannabis for recreational use in 2018. Uruguay legalised marijuana for recreational use for all people over the age of 18 in 2013.

EXPLANATION:

• Contempt of Courts Act (CoCA):
• Article 129 and 215 of the Constitution of India empowers the Supreme Court and High Court respectively to punish people for their respective contempt. The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, divides contempt into civil contempt and criminal contempt.

• ‘Civil contempt’ is a ‘wilful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other processes of a Court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to the court’. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• ‘Criminal contempt’ is ‘the publication (whether by words, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise) of any matter to scandalises, Prejudices, or interferes with the due course of justice. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• In 2006, Parliament amended the act to provides two additional safeguards in favour of the dissenters under Section 13--

• If a comment doesn't substantially interferes, or tends to substantially interfere with the due course of justice.
• Truth in speech now constitutes a valid defence against proceedings of contempt, if the court is satisfied that the larger public interest is served through the publication of such content.

• In spite of these amendments, courts have continued to routinely equate the supposed scandalisation of judiciary as an act of contempt.

EXPLANATION:

• The grouping was created in 1997 with Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand as founding members, and later expanded to include Myanmar, Nepal, and Bhutan.
• BIMSTEC, which presently includes five South Asian nations and two ASEAN members, serves as a link between the two continents.
• Except for the Maldives, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, it encompasses all of South Asia's main countries. Hence (a) is the required answer.
• PM Narendra Modi has described BIMSTEC as “a natural platform” to fulfil India’s “key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East”. Contrary to this, Nepal’s consistent view has been that SAARC needs reanimation. While former Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa made clear plea in favour of SAARC, accepting that BIMSTEC could a starting point.

EXPLANATION:

• Ready Forward Contracts (Repos): (injection of liquidity)
• If days increase beyond 7 days to 14 days, it is called as overnight repo.
• Under such an agreement the seller sells specified securities with an agreement to repurchase them at a mutually decided, future date and a price. Similarly, the buyer purchases the securities with an agreement to resell them to the seller on an agreed date in future at a pre-determined price. 
• RBI lends on a short-term basis to banks on the security of the govt. bonds (repo). Banks undertake to repurchase the security at a later date over night or few days.
• RBI charges a repo rate for the money it lends and Banks can use the repo route for the securities over and above the mandatory SLR holdings.
• Indirect instrument and also known as policy rate.
• Impact of the increase in Repo Rates:
• If the repo rates are increased, it will increase the banks lending rates. It means less money will available to the corporate India and people of India. So less will the buying on the economy. Thus,
• The flow of money will decrease in the economy leading to decrease in the inflation.
• It will hurt the borrowing power of corporates in India. Hence, option (d) is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Because elephants and tigers occupy 90% of the land, and if estimating methodologies are standardised, having a single survey may greatly reduce expenses.
• Additionally, the "head count" approach, or the one now used to count elephants, was "obsolete" and frequently resulted in animals being tallied twice. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Currently, tiger surveys are conducted every four years, while elephant surveys are conducted every five years.
• Tiger numbers are calculated based on observations in camera traps and indirect estimating methods. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Elephant counts are mostly based on the number of elephants counted directly by states. Techniques like analysing dung samples have been used to assess elephant birth rates and population trends in recent years.

EXPLANATION:

• Namami Gange Programme:
• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) will get powers under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to implement the project. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• National Council for River Ganga (NCRG) headed by Prime Minister is created, in place of the existing NGRBA for overall superintendence. It will approve the Ganga Basin Management Plan, which the NMCG will implement. Hence statement 2 and 3 are incorrect.
• At the State level, it is proposed to create the State Ganga Committees as an Authority, to perform the superintendence, direction and control over the District Ganga Protection Committees.
• District Ganga Committees in each of the Ganga Bank Districts will take cognizance of local threats and needs of river Ganga and conceptualise such measures as necessary to ensure overall quality of water in river Ganga and monitor various projects being implemented. Hence statement 4 is incorrect.

EXPLANATION:

Lithium-ion batteries:

• A typical lithium-ion batteries hold more charge for a longer time. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• It does not require complete discharge prior to recharging. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Lithium-ion batteries are able to handle more charge/discharge cycles. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• Lithium-ion batteries are less environmentally damaging than batteries containing heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury. Hence statement 4 is correct.