Weekly Current Affairs: Quizzes, 17 to 22 April, 2023

EXPLANATION:

• By the end of the fourth century B.C., there was a serious famine in the Ganges valley. Many Jain monks led by Bhadrabagu and Chandragupta Maurya came to Shravanabelagola in Karnataka.
• Those who stayed back in north India were led by a monk named Sthulabahu who changed the code of conduct for the monks. This led to the division of Jainism into two sects Svetambaras (white clad) and Digambaras (Sky-clad or Naked).
• The first Jain Council was convened at Pataliputra by Sthulabahu in the beginning of the 3rd century B.C.Thus statement (1) is correct.
• According to the Digambara sect of Jainism, there were five Shruta Kevalins in Jainism – Govarddhana Mahamuni, Vishnu, Nandimithra, Aparajita and Bhadrabahu.
• Shrutakevalin is a term used in Jainism for those ascetics who have complete knowledge of Jain Agama (texts). Thus statement (2) is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Basohli painting school of Pahari miniature painting that flourished in the Indian hill states during the late 17th and the 18th centuries, known for its bold vitality of colour and line. Though the school takes its name from the small independent state of Basohli, the principal centre of the style, examples are found throughout the region. It is considered the first school of Pahari paintings. Thus statement (3) is correct.
• The origins of the school are obscure; one of the earliest examples so far discovered, a series of illustrations to the Rasamanjari, exhibits a style already completely formed. This school of Pahari painting received patronage from Raja Kripal Pal. Thus statement (1) is correct
• These are painted on paper, cloth, or wood using natural pigments and dyes. An oblong format is favoured, with the picture space usually delineated by architectural detail, which often breaks into the characteristic red borders. 
• It is the first independent GI-tagged product from the Jammu region. Thus statement (2) is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organisations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding important sites for birds, maintaining and restoring key bird habitats, and empowering conservationists worldwide. The concept of ‘biodiversity hotspots’ originated from this organization. Thus statement (2) is correct.
• It has a membership of more than 2.5 million people across 116 country partner organizations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wild Bird Society of Japan, the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy. Thus statement (1) is correct.
• BirdLife International has identified 13,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is the official International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List authority for birds. As of 2015, BirdLife International has established that 1,375 bird species (13% of the total) are threatened with extinction (critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable). Thus statement (3) is correct.
• BirdLife International has nine conservation programmes implemented across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.

EXPLANATION:

• International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States.
• It was established in 1956 as the private sector arm of the World Bank Group to advance economic development by investing in strictly for-profit and commercial projects that purport to reduce poverty and promote development. Thus statement (1) is not correct.
• The IFC is owned and governed by its member countries, but has its own executive leadership and staff that conduct its normal business operations.
• It is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset management services to encourage private sector development in developing countries. Thus statement (2) is correct.
• It is a corporation whose shareholders are member governments that provide paid-in capital and which have the right to vote on its matters.
• Since 2009, the IFC has focused on a set of development goals that its projects are expected to target. Its goals are to increase sustainable agriculture opportunities, improve healthcare and education, increase access to financing for microfinance and business clients, advance infrastructure, help small businesses grow revenues, and invest in climate health.
• It offers an array of debt and equity financing services and helps companies face their risk exposures while refraining from participating in a management capacity.

EXPLANATION:

• The UN Statistical Commission Narcotic Drugs is in charge of dealing with drug-related issues and assuring conformity with international drug-control accords. It is a functional Commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division. Thus statement (1) is correct. 
• Its 24 member states are elected by the Economic and Social Council on the basis of the following geographical distribution: African states (5), Asian States (4), Eastern European States (4), Latin American and Caribbean States (4), Western European and other States (7). Thus statement (2) is not correct.
• India’s election to this committee is a significant achievement, since it will provide the country with a platform to contribute to global efforts to combat drug abuse and trafficking.
• The election of India to the Joint UN Program's Programme Coordinating Board is likewise a significant development. The Joint UN Program is in charge of coordinating efforts to battle diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, among others.

EXPLANATION:

EXPLANATION:

• The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve (GOMBR) stretches from Rameswaram to Tuticorin. It consists of 21 islands and is the first Indian marine national park to be recognised worldwide under the UNESCO-MAB project. Thus statement (2) is correct.
• The IUCN commission on national parks and the WWF designated the reserve as an area of special concern due to its high biodiversity and various uses. The GOMBR is India's first marine Biosphere Reserve. Thus statement (1) is correct.
• The Gulf of Mannar has drawn attention of conservationists even before the initiation of the Man and Biosphere (MAB) program by the UNESCO in 1971. 
• In the Gulf of Mannar, Seagrass beds serve as nursery and spawning grounds for diverse biota and habitat for macro and micro algae as epiphytes. This habitat is the feeding grounds for the largest endangered marine mammal Dugong i.e., Dugong dugon and, also, sea turtles. This area is also the last refuge of an invertebrate, the unique ‘living fossil’ Balanoglossus that links vertebrates and invertebrates. It is also important for crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms, fishes, turtles and many other mammals. With its rich biodiversity of about 4223 species of various flora and fauna, part of this Gulf of Mannar between Rameswaram and Tuticoirin covering 21 islands and the surrounding shallow coastal waters has been declared as a Marine National Park in 1986 by the Government of Tamil Nadu and later the first Marine Biosphere Reserve of India in 1989 by the Government of India. Thus statement (3) is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The India Justice Report 2022 (initiated by Tata Trusts in 2019) is a first-of-its-kind national periodic report that ranks the capacity of states to deliver justice.
• It assesses the capacity of 4 core pillars of the justice system:
  • Police,
  • Prisons,
  • Judiciary and
  • Legal aid across all 36 states and UTs.
• Each pillar was analyzed through the prism of budgets, human resources, workload, diversity, infrastructure and trends against the state’s own declared standards and benchmarks.
• The Report is a collaborative effort undertaken in partnership with DAKSH, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, TISS-Prayas, etc.
• The IJR 2022 also separately assesses the capacity of the 25 State Human Rights Commissions in the country.
• According to the report, not a single state/UT meets their own reserved quotas for women in police. Thus statement (1) is correct.
• Quotas for SC, ST, and OBC communities were established by law in every state. Thus statement (2) is correct.
• Urban police stations in Kerala serve ten times the population of rural police stations. Thus statement (3) is correct
• 

EXPLANATION:

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) (est. 2020; HQ: New Delhi; Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) is a 33-member Indian regulatory organisation that governs medical education and medical professions. In September 2020, it will take the Medical Council of India's position. Thus statement (2) is correct.
• The Commission recognises medical qualifications, accredits medical schools, registers medical practitioners, oversees medical practice, and evaluates India's medical infrastructure. Thus statement (1) is correct.
• The Union government has set up the National Medical Commission (NMC) along with four other autonomous boards while abolishing the MCI. The four autonomous boards include.
  • Undergraduate Medical Education Board.
  • Postgraduate Medical Education Board.
  • Medical Assessment and Rating Board.
  • Ethics and Medical Registration Board.

EXPLANATION:

• India is seeking foreign investments for its indigenous semiconductor industry for the development and design of fabs, ATMP, among others. At present, not a single silicon chip for solar energy is created. Every solar panel manufactured in India is assembled, using all materials sourced from China, Europe, and other countries. India is still in the process of developing semiconductor clusters. Thus statement (1) is not correct.
• Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) is a company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, established to facilitate the implementation of the National Solar Mission (NSM). 
  • It is the only Central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) dedicated to the solar energy sector. 
  • The company's mandate has been broadened to cover the entire renewable energy domain and the company will be renamed to Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI).
• CERC sets solar power tariffs and controls tariffs set by generating firms owned or controlled by the Central Government. Although SECI holds a power trading licence, it does not determine solar power pricing. Thus statement (2) is not correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Rare earth minerals (REM) are a collection of seventeen metallic elements. These include the fifteen lanthanides on the periodic table, as well as scandium and yttrium, which have physical and chemical properties similar to the lanthanides. They were given the name "rare earth" because it was formerly difficult to remove them technologically from their oxide forms. Thus statement (2) is correct.
• The primary difference between rare earth magnets and regular magnets is that rare earth magnets are permanent magnets made from rare earth alloys, whereas regular magnets are composed mainly of iron. In terms of power, a rare earth magnet is about 2-7 times stronger than a standard magnet. Thus statement (1) is correct.
• Some REEs, such as Lanthanum, Cerium, Neodymium, Praseodymium, and Samarium, are available in India. Others, such as Dysprosium, Terbium, and Europium, which are categorised as heavy REEs (HREEs), are not present in extractable levels in Indian deposits. As a result, there is a reliance on countries such as China for HREEs, which is one of the largest producers of REEs, accounting for an estimated 70% of global production. Thus statement (3) is not correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Curbing imports of non essential goods will lessen the demand for dollars and promoting export will help in increasing the flow of dollars into the country - helping control rupee depreciation. Thus statement (1) is correct.
• The International Finance Corporation (IFC) launched Masala Bonds in India in 2014. Masala Bonds are rupee-denominated bonds issued by Indian firms outside of India. It is directly pegged to the Indian Currency. If Indian borrowers issue more rupee denominated Masala bonds, this would increase liquidity in the market or increase in the rupee stock against few currencies in the market and this would help in supporting the rupee. Thus statement (2) is correct.
• In India, the IFC issued the first masala bonds to fund infrastructure projects. To raise funds, Indian entities or enterprises issue masala bonds outside of India. These bonds are issued in Indian rupees rather than local money. As a result, if the rupee rate declines, the investor will suffer a loss.
• External commercial borrowing (ECBs) are loans in India made by non-resident lenders in foreign currency to Indian borrowers. They are used widely in India to facilitate access to foreign money by Indian corporations and PSUs (public sector undertakings). Thus easing ECB's conditions helps in receiving more loans in foreign currencies that would increase forex inflow - leading to rupee appreciation. Thus statement (3) is correct.
• ECBs include commercial bank loans, buyers' credit, suppliers' credit, securitised instruments such as floating rate notes and fixed rate bonds etc. The DEA (Department of Economic Affairs), Ministry of Finance, Government of India along with Reserve Bank of India, monitors and regulates ECB guidelines and policies.
• Expansionary, or loose policy is a form of macroeconomic policy that seeks to encourage economic growth. Expansionary policy can consist of either monetary policy or fiscal policy (or a combination of the two). It is part of the general policy prescription of Keynesian economics, to be used during economic slowdowns and recessions in order to moderate the downside of economic cycles. A set of policy measures such as increase in money supply by the RBI to stimulate economy. It cannot influence the variations of rupee value.  
• An expansionary monetary policy may result in reduced interest rates and, as a result, a flight of foreign capital from India (which would earn higher returns elsewhere). Furthermore, increased government expenditure may fuel inflation and higher imports, causing the rupee to fall further. Thus statement (4) is not correct.